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Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
The rivalry between the United States and France may have reached its peak following the Paris Olympics. This statement from Anthony Edwards, which the Wizards sophomore Bilal Coulibaly shared, is a testament to this.
The opportunity was perfect. What better way to beat Team USA than to steal the gold medal at the home Olympics? The French team came close in Paris in 2024. It took a legendary money-time performance from Stephen Curry for the American players to pull away for good, while Vincent Collet’s men stayed in the game until the very end in the final.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and while the silver medal is still a great reward, the French team clearly doesn’t want to settle for it. No one has forgotten Victor Wembanyama’s tears after the defeat, a symbol of his desire to triumph at the highest level. The 2028 Los Angeles Games will therefore, in turn, be an opportunity to take revenge against the US.
Anthony Edwards provokes Bilal Coulibaly and “Les Bleus”
It’s worth noting that among these players, there are a few who take their French rivals seriously. Anthony Edwards is one of them, Rudy Gobert’s teammate at the Timberwolves, who made some very clear statements during a conversation with Bilal Coulibaly. The Washington sophomore recently spoke about this verbal exchange via his YouTube channel:
So Alex (Sarr) was shooting free throws at one point, and I had a little chat with Anthony Edwards. He was talking to me about the future of the French team, he was saying that yeah, it was impressive, all the young players we were bringing back, etc… He was laughing a bit about it, saying that yeah, we were coming in strong, but we still weren’t going to be able to beat them.
Ultra-confident as usual, Ant-Man admits he doesn’t see the French team beating the United States in the coming years. However, he has no trouble recognizing that the rise of basketball in France is impressive. The last two first picks in the draft, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher, come from there, while the blue-white-red nation boasts the largest non-American contingent in the NBA.
Not only that, but french players capable of becoming key players or even stars in the American league are becoming more and more numerous. Wembanyama embodies the future of the Spurs, Gobert is a four-time Defender of the Year, Risacher, Coulibaly and others like Sarr are promised a brilliant future, Guerschon Yabusele will be highly sought after this summer on the market… There are plenty of reasons to be wary of them.
