French basketball player Guerschon Yabusele, who shone at the Paris Olympics, is expected to return to the NBA in September and join the Philadelphia Sixers, his agent told AFP on Wednesday, confirming that “agreements have been reached” and that the contract is being “finalized”.
“We are in the process of finalizing this file, agreements have been reached both on the Philadelphia side with the Sixers in the NBA and on the Real Madrid side (Yabusele’s club since 2021),” the player’s agent, Olivier Mazet, told AFP.
“We are in the final exchanges of signatures and documents, it could happen by the end of the day (Wednesday), American time,” he added.
Yabusele, 28, should therefore make his big return to the NBA, he who was selected in the 2016 draft by the Boston Celtics but who had played very little before the franchise terminated his contract in 2019, leaving him “with a feeling of unfinished business” according to Mr. Mazet.
According to the player’s agent, “we’re going for a guaranteed one-year contract for now” and $2.1 million. “That will give him the option of extending with the Sixers or signing with another NBA team.”
At Real Madrid since 2021, the Frenchman (2.04 m, 123 kg) has made a place for himself in the Spanish club with whom he won the Euroleague, the European championship, while at the same time becoming a pillar of the French team over the last two seasons, becoming one of the stars of the Blues, silver medalists at the Olympic Games.
The power forward scored 22, 17 and 20 points against Canada, Germany and the United States in the quarter, semi and final respectively. He notably distinguished himself with a sensational poster dunk on the legend LeBron James, images of which went around the world.
If a return to the NBA was already in the pipeline, the Olympics “have definitively convinced the NBA franchises of his state of performance and his possible return,” said Mr. Mazet.
The Sixers’ choice? “It’s a sporting choice above all (…) to ensure that he had a real chance of being able to play,” the agent indicated.
vg/goes
