After France defeated Germany in the 2024 Paris Olympics to secure a spot in the gold medal game -- against the United States -- Guerschon Yabusele sent a direct message to the Boston Celtics.
"You gotta tell (the Celtics) to bring me back," Yabusele told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Yabusele, 28, currently plays for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He averaged 9.3 points and three rebounds on 49% shooting from the field for Real Madrid last season, and most recently scored a team-high 17 points while grabbing seven rebounds for France in the Olympic semifinal win over Germany.
Viewed as one of the most elite international prospects nearly a decade ago, Yabusele was selected 16th overall in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Celtics. He spent two seasons with Boston, averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds on 44.2% shooting from the floor and 32.3% from 3-point range in 74 games, even earning a nickname among Celtics fans -- the Dancing Bear. With the team welcoming aboard additions such as Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving throughout the following offseason, Yabusele sunk in Boston's depth chart, leading to his departure.
Yabusele hasn't made an NBA appearance ever since, yet while watching the start of a potential dynasty grow in Boston from afar, perhaps the two-year veteran isn't joking. The Celtics retained nearly everyone from their championship roster by investing over $930 million in the starting lineup alone, and haven't shown any signs of aiming for anything other than a repeat in 2024-25.
For now, Yabusele will settle for targeting an upset victory in the gold medal battle against current Celtics in Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Team USA.
