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Maxime Aubin: I can confirm it was Wemby’s idea. Last Saturday, after the loss, he asked if he could visit a children’s hospital before heading back to France.
I can confirm it was Wemby’s idea. Last Saturday, after the loss, he asked if he could visit a children’s hospital before heading back to France. https://t.co/TUN3cD21tp
— Maxime Aubin (@MaximeAubin1) June 16, 2026
Paris Basketball is exploring a high-profile coaching addition as the club prepares for the next chapter of its project. Paris is in talks with former NBA head coach Dave Joerger, sources tell ESPN's Olgun Uluc and BasketNews. The 52-year-old Minnesota native has been exploring opportunities outside the NBA and is widely expected around the market to emerge as Paris' next bench leader.
Paris is currently coached by 28-year-old Julius Thomas, who took over the team mid-season. However, BasketNews sources indicate that Thomas is expected to leave the organization this summer and is exploring opportunities to join an NBA coaching staff. Former Minnesota Timberwolves executive David Kahn oversees basketball operations in Paris, while the organization has established a growing reputation as a pathway between European basketball and the NBA.
Biyombo, 33, hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Wembanyama is from France, his father, Victor, is of Congolese descent, his grandmother lived in the Congo, and the basketball star hopes to visit Africa one day. Biyombo and Wembanyama are also the team’s only French-speaking players. “Obviously, the kid is great and talented,” Biyombo told Andscape about Wembanyama. “He’s an incredible human being, just overall. Very respectful. It speaks a lot about him. I’ve spent time with his dad. You can tell the values he has implemented into his son. … “He has handled everything that has been thrown at him with great poise and presence. Wemby is Wemby. He’s one of a kind.”
Should the series between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs reach a Game 6, that match will tip off on Tues., June 16, at 8:30pm at Madison Square Garden, which sits above Penn Station. The World Cup match between France and Senegal begins five-and-a-half hours earlier that day at 3pm, with thousands expected to use that same station to get to the Meadowlands. “I want to make very clear that we are hoping for a sweep,” city mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “We are preparing for anything, because that is our job as New York City government, to ensure that any eventuality is one that we are ready for.”
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Officials say they'll be ready if there's an NBA Finals game in Manhattan on June 16, the same day of the World Cup match between France and Senegal at the New Jersey stadium. "This is a moment we've been preparing for, we've been hoping for and we feel fully prepared for," Mamdani said. At the press conference, state and local officials also detailed security arrangements designed to reduce the risk of crime and terrorism.
NJ Transit won’t change World Cup plans to give Knicks fans a direct ride to a historic playoff home game — favoring soccer tourists over local sports lovers, officials said. New York City’s on-fire hometown team will host the NBA finals at Madison Square Garden for the first time in nearly 30 years — potentially including a high-stakes Game 6 on June 16, the same day a match between France and Senegal is set to kick off at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Former Los Angeles Lakers owners Joey and Jesse Buss are interested in being among the investors in French EuroLeague team ASVEL. ASVEL has long been considered one of the teams that might leave the elite league, but they’ve changed their mind and will continue to play in it. Now, they are ready to take a step further and secure significant funds.
Head coach Frederic Fauthoux has named a 16-player roster for the senior national team of France heading into the upcoming July window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers, as revealed by the French Federation of Basketball on Friday. The star-studded training camp squad is highlighted by the returns of veterans Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, alongside a strong NBA contingent featuring Bilal Coulibaly, Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Guerschon Yabusele, and newcomer Maxime Raynaud. While France will be without Victor Wembanyama following his deep run in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, Fauthoux balanced the roster with EuroLeague standouts Sylvain Francisco, Nadir Hifi, Jaylen Hoard, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Frank Ntilikina, Elie Okobo, and Matthew Strazel, who were also called up alongside window veterans Adam Mokoka and Amine Noua to ensure continuity.
OVER THE PAST three decades, Ndiaye has represented some of the best players to come from France: Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier. He has known Wembanyama's family for almost as long. Wembanyama's mother, Elodie, even coached Ndiaye's son when he was just 5 years old. He always has understood the responsibility in representing a player with Wembanyama's natural athletic and mental gifts. But as Wembanyama has grown into his extraordinary talent, Ndiaye has also come to see it as a privilege. "I am always trying to think ahead and see how we can train this kid differently, because he's different," Ndiaye said. "We have to do something for him, not just do something with him."
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Maxime Aubin: Mitch Johnson is delighted about the Spurs' return to Paris in January 2027: "I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience. Honestly, I'm not quite there yet in my thinking (smile), but I'm always thrilled to contribute to the international reach of the game and to be part of this great adventure that is playing abroad."
The NBA's two regular season games in Europe next January will be in Paris and Manchester and The Stein Line has learned that Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs — for obvious reasons — have been selected to headline the trip. Spurs vs. Pelicans, I'm told, is the expected pairing for the two-game series.
With the San Antonio Spurs clinching a berth in the Western Conference Finals of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out for the next FIBA window in July, to resume action in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Qualifiers. The head coach of the senior national team of France, Frederic Fauthoux, confirmed during a recent interview with RMC Sport that Wemby was extremely unlikely to be available if the Spurs progress.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne president Tony Parker opened up on the club's decision to commit to the EuroLeague in an interview with L'Equipe. Although ASVEL confirmed their long-term commitment to the EuroLeague and strengthened their ownership structure with new strategic shareholders, Parker revealed that the club is keeping its options open regarding a potential move to the NBA Europe project in the future. For now, however, ASVEL's ambition is to remain at the highest level, which Parker says is the EuroLeague. "There is no doubt that NBA Europe is coming, whether it is with the EuroLeague or without it," Parker said via SKWEEK. "I have always said that we keep our options open and that we want to be the bridge between NBA Europe and the EuroLeague. Today, the EuroLeague remains the best league in Europe, and we want to stay at the highest level."