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Par Guillaume Kagni | Journaliste sportif
Pacôme Dadiet was one of the last Frenchmen involved in the playoffs, having been eliminated in the conference finals with the Knicks. Back in France for the vacations, he took the time to respond to an invitation from beIN Sports. He looked back on his early days in the league.
This season, two young Frenchmen in particular have been making waves in the NBA. The first is, of course, Zaccharie Risacher, the first choice of the last draft. Selected by the Hawks, he was quickly inserted into Quin Snyder’s starting 5, and little by little, as his confidence grew, he showed off all his offensive potential.
The other is Alex Sarr, his runner-up last June. In a team like the Wizards, where the pressure of results doesn’t exist at the moment, the inside man has been able to make his mark at his own pace, even if fans would have liked to see more aggression. He is sometimes too gentle in his interventions, and this is something that former DPOY Marcus Smart will want to erase quickly.
Pacôme Dadiet talks about his season in New York
He may have received less media coverage than the others, but there’s one Frenchman who’s been playing in the Eastern Conference Finals in recent days. We’re talking about Pacôme Dadiet, but unfortunately for him, his Knicks were eliminated by the Pacers. So he’s back in France for the vacations, an opportunity for him to look back on his debut and his place in New York.
It can be impressive to arrive at the Knicks, in New York, but in every situation there’s something good to learn. In this team, I have a lot of very good team-mates, so I’m learning every day. In terms of discipline, Tom Thibodeau was really good at framing the youngsters. It lays a good foundation. The thing that impressed me most was the number of games. It changes a lot of things, especially in terms of recovery. You have to mature quickly.
After that, we know that the NBA is a big league, but when you see certain players in real life, it’s even more striking. It’s the same when I came back in the playoffs, it’s always a pleasure, I take what there is to take. When I came back against Boston at the TD Garden, I tried to contribute, even though the score was heavily against me. What I’ve learned is the importance of having a daily routine.
Even without playing much, Pacôme Dadiet was able to gain experience this season and progress. Firstly, he had an uncompromising coach who was as hard on him as he was on the stars. Then, with teammates like Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, he was able to see the importance of daily routine in reaching the very highest level. Now he’ll have to earn his place!
