One of the things that is the most fun about watching basketball at the Olympics (besides getting to see a USA team with LeBron James and Stephen Curry playing together) is seeing role players in the NBA take on starring roles for their country.
There is something about international play that brings out the best in some guys, from Carlos Arroyo with Puerto Rico to Rudy Fernandez with Spain, there are tons of examples of guys that have found a different level playing for their country. This year, we saw Dennis Schröder, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Evan Fournier, and others shine on the Olympic stage in a way we don’t always get to on the NBA court, but no one made a bigger impression over two weeks in Paris than French big man Guerschon Yabusele.
Yabusele was so good for France that by the time the knockout rounds arrived, he had supplanted Rudy Gobert in the starting lineup, providing an ideal physical foil for Victor Wembanyama. He scored 22, 17, and 20 points in France’s three knockout stage games, as he posed problems inside for Canada, Germany, and even Team USA. Those performances opened some eyes in the NBA, and after being out of the league since 2019 when he was with the Celtics, Yabusele is coming back to the NBA as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski.
Yabusele’s deal is a 1-year, $2.1 million minimum contract that gives him a chance to re-establish himself as an NBA player. Yabusele will leave Real Madrid to join the Sixers, and will compete for backup minutes at the four in camp. The Sixers hope they’ve built a squad that can challenge the Celtics in the East this year, most notably with the addition of Paul George. While Yabusele isn’t likely going to be a major factor in the playoff rotation, he did become something of a cult figure for Celtics fans and seeing him in a Sixers uni might cause them a bit of mental anguish, if nothing else.
