EuroBasket is upon us. While most NBA players are taking a break from the season’s grind, many are heading back to their home countries to participate in this FIBA tournament, alongside numerous professionals from overseas. As the group stage kicks into gear, we get our first looks at contending hopefuls. Thursday’s game between Belgium and France is an exciting rivalry between two group stage contestants.
The French are 19.5-point favorites and hold -2400 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 156 points. Let’s look at the best bets and predictions for this Belgium–France contest.
Belgium vs. France preview
France will be without their superstar Victor Wembanyama for this tournament. The NBA All-Star is busy recovering from a blood clot and doing side quests in China. But the French still bring a talented roster to the table, including some key parts of the team that nearly won the Gold Medal in the past Olympics.
Four current NBA players are on the roster. Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr are the headliners after being the first and second overall picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Risacher had a strong first year as a starter for the Hawks, showing a lot of defensive chops and shooting prowess. Sarr is slower to develop on offense, but has put up some serious tape on the defensive end of the floor.
Bilal Coulibaly is another young perimeter player with elite defensive skills. The 7th overall pick in the 2023 draft by the Wizards, he and Sarr are an exciting young defensive tandem. Much like his teammate, the offense is a work in progress, but it made significant strides last season. Guerschon Yabusele is the NBA veteran leader of the team. After a five-year hiatus in Europe, Yabu made an NBA comeback with the Sixers this past season. He’ll be taking his talents to New York next season to be a fixture in the Knicks’ rotation.
They boast a few more players with NBA experience: Elié Okobo, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, Théo Maledon, and Jaylen Hoard. It provides them with a substantial depth of talent, even without Wembanyama or Rudy Gobert participating.
The Belgian team lacks the same level of depth. Not only are they without NBA players, but they also lack any EuroLeague players, the top league in Europe. They have one player who got close. Emmanuel Lecomte played for Miami and Baylor in the NCAA before spending a stint in the G League, then returned overseas for more opportunities. That’s the closest this Belgian squad has to an NBA-level talent.
The talent gap here is dire, which is why the spread is so large. Even with that high total, I’m backing the French for a 20+ point victory to kick off the group stage.
