Five NBA pre-season matches were on the program on Wednesday, and the French Rudy Gobert, Guerschon Yabusele and Rayan Rupert stood out… as well as Noa Essengue, expected in the 2025 draft.
In six days, the 2024-25 NBA season will begin, and the teams are continuing their preparation, with five more pre-season games scheduled this Wednesday. One meeting was particularly expected, that between Chicago and Minnesota, which marked the return to competition of Bulls leader Lonzo Ball (27 years old at the end of the month), after more than 1000 days of absence (his last match dates back to January 2022!) due to a knee injury that required several operations.
He was able to play fifteen minutes during his team’s 125-123 victory, scoring 10 points on 4/6 shots. Promising! Opposite, the Wolves were moderately able to count on Anthony Edwards, who finished with a disappointing 6/23 on shots including 3/16 at 3 points, while Rudy Gobert finished with a double-double, with 13 points (5/8 on shots, 3/3 on free throws) and 17 rebounds. There is one pre-season match left in Minnesota, against Denver this Thursday, before starting the season with the Lakers next Tuesday.
Yabusele and Rupert show up
Philadelphia, for its part, played no less than 18 players in the 117-95 victory over Brooklyn. Among them, no Joel Embiid or Paul George, but Kelly Oubre Jr who finished with 18 points. Guerschon Yabusele played 20 minutes, for a total of 9 points (3/4 on shots including 1/2 on 3pts), 6 rebounds and 3 interceptions. The 76ers will play their final preseason game Saturday in Orlando, then begin their season next Thursday with the Milwaukee host.
Note that Killian Hayes, injured in the hip, did not play for the Nets, and while he only has a contract for training camp, he will have difficulty convincing his managers to take him on. keep for the season. Portland played a pre-season match against the Germans from Ulm, and upheld logic by winning 111-100. Rayan Rupert contributed to this success by scoring 11 points (4/8 on shots including 0/3 on 3pts) and grabbing 4 rebounds in 36 minutes.
Essengue sets date for 2025
Opposite, a young Frenchman stood out for Ulm, Noa Essengue. The 17-year-old winger (or strong winger), who played for Orléans and the Federal Center before leaving for Germany last year, scored 20 points (6/14 on shots including 3/6 on 3pts), took 8 rebounds , delivered 3 passes and intercepted 2 balls in 34 minutes! Expected quite high during the 2025 draft, the native of Orléans made his mark! Detroit, thanks to a strong last quarter (27-17), for its part won against Cleveland with 18 points from Simone Fontecchio (19pts and 8 rebounds for Jarrett Allen on the Cavs side). Finally, without draft number 1 Zaccharie Risacher, left to rest, Atlanta was beaten 120-111 by Miami, carried by Jimmy Butler with 24 points and 5 rebounds (21pts and 5 rebounds for Jalen Johnson on the Hawks side).
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