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France isn’t the only country producing top prospects for the NBA — it just sort of seems that way.
Victor Wembanyama was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft a year ago and went on to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award.
Two more Frenchmen — Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher — are projected top picks Wednesday night in the draft. Tidjane Salaun is another potential lottery pick from France, and Pacome Dadiet could go late in the first round.
But the international pool extends beyond France. Other prospects include Nikola Topic and Nikola Djurisic of Serbia, Bobi Klintman of Sweden, Juan Nunez of Spain and Ulrich Chomche of Cameroon.
Here’s a closer look:
The 6-foot-6 point guard has a partially torn ACL but is still projected to be a first-round pick. He doesn’t turn 19 until August. He was projected as a top-five prospect early in the 2023-24 season following his performance with Belgrade club Mega — Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic ’s old team. Topic made a midseason move back to his original club Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) to play alongside one of his idols, Milos Teodosic, and to get some meaningful minutes in the Euroleague. But he missed time with a left knee injury — before the ACL issue that came later.
“I’m working on my rehab with the knee injury, and that’s the main focus right now,” Topic said in a video call with reporters on June 4 from the NBA’s pre-draft camp in Treviso, Italy. “After that, I’ll work on basketball. … I’ve been doing (the) weight room. It’s not 100% healed.
