Evan Fournier

Evan Fournier is one of the best French basketball players in history. A natural scorer, this son of high-level judo athletes trained at Charenton then at the France National Institute before starting his professional career at Nanterre at age 16. During his U17 season, the Parisian was one of the top scorers in Nationale 1. He confirmed this status at the U18 EuroBasket in Metz in 2009, where France finished second.

While he started in Pro B with Nanterre, Evan Fournier made his name at Poitiers. Quickly becoming PB 86's leader in Pro A, he was drafted 20th by Denver. Given responsibility in his rookie season, he became a very solid NBA player with Orlando, where he was traded in 2014. At the Magic, Fournier had his best seasons overseas. But while he was averaging 19.6 points per game in 2020-21, the Florida franchise decided to rebuild and traded him to Boston.

Signed by New York in the 2021 offseason, he started with a bang against the Celtics (41 points) and then broke the Knicks' single-season 3-point record. However, chronic inconsistency, defensive issues, and irregular competitiveness for New York led coach Tom Thibodeau to significantly reduce his role the following season, eventually removing him from the rotation.

Evan Fournier had to wait until the February 2024 trade deadline to finally leave New York and return to the court with Detroit, a franchise at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. A beneficial trade for the Frenchman just months before the Paris Olympics. Because Evan Fournier has been one of the French national team's leaders for ten years.

Left out before EuroBasket 2013, he had his first major international campaign at the 2014 World Cup in Spain. Back at EuroBasket 2015 in a rotation role, he missed the 2016 Rio Olympics, straining his relationship with the French team's staff. However, he didn't leave the national team and gradually established himself as an offensive leader. After a collectively disappointing Euro 2017, the national team finished third at the 2019 World Cup. Two years later, Vincent Collet's team brought back silver from Tokyo. A silver medal was also won at EuroBasket 2022. While the 2023 World Cup was a real failure, Evan Fournier and the French team are determined to bounce back at the Paris Olympics.