Nicolas Batum: 'I screwed up my last World Cup and it really pisses me off'
Nicolas Batum: “It was my last World Cup, I missed summers but I did everything for this jersey. When we deprive ourselves of certain guys… We’ve been together, we’ve been putting something in place for years… The players, we screwed up, but it takes a lot of people to question themselves. I have one year left in the France team. We need everyone in Paris, the best conditions, everyone. I don’t give a damn about politics, we need the best team in France possible. I screwed up my last World Cup and it really pisses me off.”
Source: L’Equipe
Source: L’Equipe
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
Can’t believe a team led by Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nic Batum flamed out in a basketball tournament, gonna need some time to digest this. – 12:25 PM
Can’t believe a team led by Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nic Batum flamed out in a basketball tournament, gonna need some time to digest this. – 12:25 PM
Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050
Batum with a chase down block on Dort earlier, now blocks Barrett’s jumper. Not bad for a 34 year old. – 10:10 AM
Batum with a chase down block on Dort earlier, now blocks Barrett’s jumper. Not bad for a 34 year old. – 10:10 AM
More on this storyline
Nicolas Batum (after elimination of the French team in the first round of the World Cup, at the microphone of beIN Sports): “It’s a big disappointment, that’s for sure, we broke down mentally, physically, they were very strong, we weren’t together. We cannot take them away. This match characterizes what has happened for five or six weeks. We are a very good team, we have shown that for several years. Everyone must question themselves after what happened this summer: coaches, players, Federation, up there. That we deprive ourselves of certain players (Thomas Heurtel, leader with 99 caps and four international medals, has been suspended from the French team for a year and his signing in Russia), that we lose players because of certain conditions. Everyone needs to be committed.” -via L’Equipe / August 27, 2023
Nicolas Batum is gearing up to captain France in pursuing a medal at the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup, and he plans to play with the National Team for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. However, it appears that he will bid farewell to his professional basketball career after that. The seasoned forward had already announced his decision to retire from the National Team after the Paris Olympics, and his wife, Aurelie, recently shared on social media that he will indeed be concluding his entire career. “Nico decided to end his career (NBA and France team) after the Olympics, so this is his last season with the Clippers,” she posted on Twitter, as reported first by BeBasket. -via EuroHoops.net / August 15, 2023
Nicolas Batum: It’s not given to every good player to move to the 3rd best team in Euroleague and live in South of France. Knowing the level of competition in Euroleague, it’s a pretty good move after what Kemba went through the last couples months -via Twitter @nicolas88batum / July 24, 2023