While the United States men’s basketball team ultimately took home the gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and LeBron James was named the FIBA tournament MVP, one of the biggest standout players from the games did not play for the U.S., nor did he win any individual awards. The name Guerschon Yabusele may be familiar to a few diehard hoops fans, but most casual viewers would not have recognized it just a few weeks ago. However, mere days after the Olympics wrapped up, the 28 year-old forward from France has thrust himself into the international basketball spotlight, and was rewarded with his first NBA contract in over five years. But, how exactly did he get to this point?

Guerschon Yabusele was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft, but didn’t make his debut until the 2017-2018 season. A big, bruising forward with a nice touch around the rim, his physical abilities made him a promising prospect for an ascending team that already had some good young talent. Unfortunately for Yabusele, that young talent at the forward position turned out to be Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who received the bulk of the minutes and developmental focus from the coaching staff. He split his time between the NBA and the D-league, and didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself when he did suit up for the Celtics. Yabusele averaged just 7.1 minutes played across 33 professional games during his rookie season, with only 4 starts. He barely appeared in the postseason that year, and ended his rookie campaign with a 2.4 point per-game average.

His sophomore season was much of the same for Yabusele, and while he managed to play in 41 games this time around, his average minutes per-game dropped to 6.1, and he only started once. His averages largely stayed the same, and as Tatum and Brown continued their rises to stardom, Yabusele became largely an afterthought in the Celtics frontcourt. He continued making appearances in the D-league, but nothing much came of it. At the end of the season, Yabusele was waived by the Celtics, and it appeared his NBA career was over before it had ever really started.

Now in his mid-twenties, he spent the next few years playing basketball overseas in China, France, and Spain. After signing a one year contract with Real Madrid in 2021, Yabusele was extended by the team for another three seasons in 2022. That meant that he had a deal through the 2024-2025 season, and could finally look forward to some stability in his professional career. However, just as things changed quickly for him when he was on the Celtics, things were about to rapidly change again for the young Frenchman just a few years later. 

Yabusele was selected to be a part of the French national basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and would join a loaded frontcourt containing Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert as his home country made a push to take home the gold medal. The squad also included recent NBA players such as Frank Ntilikina and Evan Fournier, along with Yabusele himself. It was going to be difficult for him to earn a consistent spot in the rotation with the amount of talent that was surrounding him. But Yabusele had a point to prove, and as the games began, he quickly showed what he could do.

He received between 16 and 18 minutes in each of the three group play matches, yet made the most of them. Yabusele averaged 8.3 points per-game during that stretch, with his best outing coming against Japan. He scored 13 points that time out, and hit three out of his six attempted three-pointers. As France headed into the knockout phase, Yabusele had proved that he commanded more playing time than he was receiving. Sure enough, he was given a whopping 30 minutes against Canada in the quarter-finals, and once again, he impressed. This time, it was to the tune of 22 points and 4 rebounds, his best game of the Olympics by far. France won the match, and Yabusele followed up his strong performance the next time out with a 17 point, 5 rebound game against Germany. That was good enough to boost France into the gold medal game, where they would take on the United States, who featured many of the same players Yabusele had competed against in his time in the NBA.

And on the biggest stage, he not only stepped up to the challenge, but went far beyond that. Against some of the best defenders and most talented players in the world, Guerschon Yabusele scored 20 points and shot 42.9% from the field. His tenacity, hustle, and grit lit a fire under his teammates and the loyal French crowd. The arena nearly exploded when, late in the second quarter, Yabusele faked a handoff, drove to the basket, and threw down a monster dunk over none other than LeBron James. The clip instantly made its rounds across the Internet, and anyone who didn’t previously know who Guerschon Yabusele was now knew his name. It was a brilliant performance by the 28 year-old forward, and while France ended up losing the game, the entire world had seen him leave everything he had out on the court. Yabusele walked away with a silver medal around his neck and microphones in his face asking if he had plans for an NBA return.

In the days that followed, Yabusele was consistent in his interviews that while he would welcome a return to professional basketball in the United States, he was not desperate for one. He was plenty happy to continue playing for Real Madrid, and would not go back to the NBA unless a team reached out to him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Sure enough, on August 18th, it was announced that the Philadelphia 76ers were signing Yabusele on a one year, $2.1 million contract. He and the 76ers worked together to buy out his contract with Real Madrid, and now the 6’8 forward is preparing for a return to the NBA to help a title-contending team get over the hump. 

Regardless of how the coming seasons go for Yabusele, his story is already one that thousands of other professional athletes can turn to for inspiration. So many players across a multitude of sports fulfill their dreams of getting a shot in the big leagues, only to be turned away shortly thereafter and forced to look elsewhere. There are countless Guerschon Yabuseles out there that are playing in lower divisions for small teams, unable to shake the disappointment of not being able to make it at the very top level. Hopefully, these competitors are able to look at what Yabusele did, and feel motivated to not give up. Determination, belief, and hard work are what got Guerschon Yabusele back into the NBA. And his return to the pinnacle of basketball may help open up similar opportunities for other athletes looking for just one more chance.