NBA
Yabusele: “I think the dunk on LeBron got me signed to the NBA”
Guerschon Yabusele relived the moments when he decided it was the right time to leave Real Madrid and try his luck in the NBA for a second time.
Guerschon Yabusele’ sudden departure from Real Madrid threw the club’s strategic planning for the season into disarray, a mess that they are still suffering from. The Frenchman took a risk by accepting the Sixers’ offer, where he will coincide with Joel Embiid, who also has French nationality although the two players were on opposite side in last summer’s Olympic Games final.
It was precisely his outstanding performances during the Paris Games and particularly the final that opened the doors to the United States to him once again. Now, he hopes he will be successful in his second spell in the NBA. This week he spoke about the operation that led him to switch teams, and continents.
Yabusele has a past in the NBA. The Boston Celtics took a chance on him in the draft back in 2016, in 16th position. His stay lasted two seasons. He averaged 2.3 points in 74 regular-season games and did not contribute much more in the 16 playoffs, which is why he decided to look for other options. Before his move to North America, he had played in China and returned there before trying out in Europe, with ASVEL, before the outbreak of the pandemic.
He signed for Real Madrid in 2021. During his three years in the capital, putting aside the infamous fight with Partizan, he became one of Laso’s regulars first and then Mateo’s due to his versatility (he is a ‘4′ but can act as a ‘3′). With the 76ers he found himself with a contract for the minimum salary, which for him. works out at $2.1 million before tax, but even losing money he has prioritized the NBA over his continuity in the Euroleague.
The brilliance he displayed with France at the Games catapulted him into the books of American scouts to return to a team in the United States if the possibility arose. He hasn’t wasted it. With the Sixers he has enjoyed a good preseason - while George, Maxey and especially Embiid, who has not even stepped onto the court as a precaution with his knee, have not.
He will start from the bottom of the rotation and will have to earn his playing time. And for him, the clock is ticking: standing out is essential this season if he is to earn an extension in the summer and continue the adventure. A year on trial. To squeeze out all the very best of himself.
Real Madrid meanwhile continue the search for a substitute - with the 2024/25 season already started. They are looking for a player from the European Union with similar characteristics.
Yabusele hasn’t forgotten Madrid and confessed to Andscape that some of his belongings remain in storage in the Spanish capital. The club holds out hope that he might return to the squad in the future. Time will tell...
A defining moment: Yabusele vs. LeBron
One play stood out from the rest in the final of the Games. Yabusele received the ball in the low post with some space and bolted for the basket, entering the paint with such force that he knocked LeBron James to the floor, earned two points and a personal foul.
The United States went on to win the game and took the gold medal, with Stephen Curry in sensational form. But Yabu flooring LeBron, with the whole world watching, was one of the most talked about incidents of the game and elevated Yabu to the altars, capturing the attention of the American public.
And also some of the league’s decision makers. During the preseason with Nick Nurse’s 76ers, the forward spoke to Agence France-Presse about that moment: “I am a very humble person, but it was an incredible play. When I saw him like that, waiting, I told myself that it was either dunk or get blocked. So I had no choice. When I saw that we collided and that he still made it, it was a shock for everyone. From what I know, everyone talks about that play quite a bit. Don’t worry, I’m going to put that poster in my room!
“For me, as crazy as it was, it was a move like any other,” he added. “I know it’s LeBron James, but I’d already made beautiful dunks like that on other people.”
Yabu has no doubt about what his dunk meant: “I think that play got me signed to the NBA. I’m convinced of that. Apart from how I was in the tournament or simply in the final, I think that that move added an extra something to open people’s eyes. So they could see the work I’ve been doing for the last five years. And people recognize me on the street: ‘Hey, that’s the one who dunked on LeBron.’ Being in Philly I realized that,” he concluded.