The French connection led by Evan Fournier will wreak havoc on the men’s basketball competition in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
After leading France to a 97-77 victory against the Czech Republic in their second group stage game, the two NBA stars kept on their quest to help France win an Olympic basketball medal.
E. Fournier Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
The “French connection” Evan Fournier brought to the men’s basketball event in Tokyo 2020 is having surprising results.
The French men have been captained by NBA players Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) and Evan Fournier (Boston Celtics).
After beating Team USA 83-76 on Sunday (25 July), and then beating the Czech Republic 97-77 tonight (27 July), the squad has a perfect 2-0 record (28 July).
The French team, led by Fournier, beat the Americans, snapping their 25-game winning streak, on the first day of the basketball tournament. Fournier played very aggressively against the Czechs.
With a laser focus on the hoop, Fournier led the team in scoring against the United States with 28 points. The statistics versus the Czechs were very similar. At the half, Fournier had 16 points and was the game’s top scorer. The point guard added five more points to his total and finished with 21.
A single Frenchman in the air wasn’t enough encouragement for Fournier, so the huge Gobert was right there behind him, cheering him on the whole way.
Gobert added 14 points and nine rebounds to France’s total against the United States, putting him second in scoring behind Fournier. The 2.16 m centre played just as well against the Czech squad, grabbing seven defensive boards and three offensive boards.
France appears to be in excellent shape to go to the quarterfinals as the group victor, with only the Republic of Iran remaining in the opening rounds.
Two fiery guys who happen to be best friends: Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier
Gobert and Fournier blazing the trail for France is Scarcely a shock.
As young as 12 years old, the two formed a close bond that has lasted ever since. They used to play basketball together as shooting guards for the INSEP team out in the Paris outskirts. Both are now household names in the NBA in the United States.
When we were both 13 or 14 years old, we were both shooting guards,” Fournier said to NBA.com. But then one summer he returned, taller by at least a couple of inches, with a deeper voice, and clearly a man. It was really challenging to identify him. Honestly, it was unbelievable.
They don’t really make much time for basketball chat in their friendship.
But it doesn’t mean they won’t be honest with each other about their performance in the game.
In 2020, when three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Gobert made his first All-Star team, his teammate, the Utah Jazz’s Evan Fournier, posted a photo of Gobert as a teenager with a tongue-in-cheek caption.
Always keep in mind where you’ve been and who’s been there with you.
