Adama Bal has officially made history as the 22nd French player to step onto an NBA court. He recently secured a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies and made his debut, logging 27 minutes and 34 seconds of playing time against the Chicago Bulls. While his shooting performance was modest (1-of-8 from the field for 3 points), Bal demonstrated significant activity, contributing 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Interestingly, Bal now shares the same team with fellow Frenchman Rayan Rupert. Both players previously wore the SCM Le Mans jersey together during their youth careers. Adama Bal is a native of Le Mans, the capital of Sarthe, France. His basketball journey includes stints with JALT Le Mans, where his father coached the NM2 team, and the Centre Fédéral. He then moved to the United States to play collegiately for the Universities of Arizona and Santa Clara before transitioning to the G-League. Bal has also represented France internationally at the U16 and U20 levels.
The 22 French Players in the NBA:
- Adama Bal
- Nicolas Batum
- Joan Beringer
- Sidy Cissoko
- Bilal Coulibaly
- Pacôme Dadiet
- Moussa Diabaté
- Mohamed Diawara
- Ousmane Dieng
- Noa Essengue
- Rudy Gobert
- Killian Hayes
- Noah Penda
- Maxime Raynaud
- Zaccharie Risacher
- Rayan Rupert
- Tidjane Salaün
- Alexandre Sarr
- Olivier Sarr
- Nolan Traoré
- Victor Wembanyama
- Guerschon Yabusele
