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With Evan Fournier and France looking for their ninth FIBA competitions โโmedal since 2000, the Knicks point guard knows continuity can be key. Maybe that’s the issue with Giannis, Jokic, and Doncic already out of the EuroBasket 2022.
France at EuroBasket 2022
France will face Poland in the EuroBasket semi-finals (16/9, 17.15 CET), and with a win, coach Vincent Collet’s team will have their ninth medal in a major FIBA โโcompetition since 2000.
Not bad, and the explanation is simple, according to Evan Fournier: “I started with the team in 2014, and since I’ve been here, the consistency of our players, the coaching staff, the confidence and just knowing that we’ve got a good foundation. “When you have a strong core, young guys can come in and contribute immediately.”
And now France must make an extra effort and play two more games, along with Germany, Poland, and Spain, for a total of nine in 18 days. “Two games is a lot at this point,” admits Fournier. It is very tiring for the body but is also part of Eurobasket. EuroBasket is probably the most physically demanding competition, but it is the same for everyone.
So that might explain, or at least provide continuity, why Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are out of contention.
Although Evan Fournier doesn’t have an answer and doesn’t have to explain to other NBA players what EuroBasket is, he agrees that FIBA โโcompetitions, however you look at them, are special: “I don’t have to explain nothing. They probably don’t even watch the games. I have RJ Barret on my team who plays for Canada and lost to the Czech Republic in the Olympic qualifier last year. So he knows. He knows that FIBA is special, and I’m sure the American players who went to the Olympics know that playing FIBA is different. At least I don’t need to explain anything.”