Paris, D-Day!

Four months after their last official match, this Sunday September 17 marks the start of a new season for our Parisians, the third in a row in Betclic ELITE. On the program: a mouth-watering Home Opener against JDA Dijon, at the Halle Carpentier, at 2.30pm. For the new coach, Tuomas Iisalo, and a roster that has been extensively remodeled over the off-season, this big game marks the first stage of a 2023-2024 season that promises to be very important in the development process of Paris Basketball.

A new cycle begins

The new face of Paris Basketball will first and foremost be that of its new faces. Let’s start with the boss of this new sporting pyramid, Tuomas Iisalo. The new Finnish coach arrives buoyed by his conquest of the last Basketball Champions League at the head of the German team Bonn. The Nordic coach arrives with three pillars of his staff who were already at his side last season in Germany: his assistants Adrian Kovacs (Hungary) and Julius Thomas (Germany), and the new head of physical performance, Spaniard Adrian Ariza Medina.

A very international staff, therefore, to steer a roster featuring no fewer than 11 new players: spectacular point guard Nadir Hifi, one of the rising stars of French basketball, talented California-born point guard TJ Shorts, MVP of the last Champions League, fellow Americans Collin Malcom (wing) and Tyson Ward (wing), French wingers Bandja Sy, Enzo Shahrvin and Maxim Logue, as well as Finnish international Mikael Jantunen, German pivots Michael Kessens and Leon Kratzer and, last but not least, Chilean international full-back Sebastian Herrera.

This very active recruitment campaign makes the historic Gauthier Denis (26) – a fixture on the squad since the Club’s creation in 2018 – and young professional winger Mohamed Diawara (18) the two “survivors” for the 2022-2023 financial year, alongside assistant coach Bienvenu Kindoki. The Carpentier crowd will therefore have plenty of “newcomers” to warmly welcome on this last Sunday of summer!

Momentum to build against Dijon

Whether newcomers or regulars to the Parisian jersey, they are all looking ahead to the goals of a club that will be seeking to explore the Betclic ELITE playoffs for the first time and continue its progress in the EuroCup, after reaching the quarter-finals last season. We have ambitions,” admits Tuomas Iisalo. And the players we’ve taken on are players who know how to put themselves at the service of the team to achieve those ambitions.” For his part, TJ Shorts stresses: “We’re starting from scratch, or almost, to build something great step by step…”

That will begin with a big test against JDA Dijon, the 2021 Championship finalists. A team that has also strengthened in the off-season, with the recruitment of guard/winger Allan Dokossi (ex-Fos-sur-Mer) and pivot Vitalis Chikoko, on loan from Élan Béarnais.

Clearly, this Home Opener will pit two teams who have set their sights on the playoffs against each other. To nurture this ambition, a good start is always preferable, as our president, David Kahn, reminded us this week: “Last year, we had trouble getting our season off to a good start, not least because the coach at the time didn’t yet have all the necessary authorizations to operate… This season, we’ll need to perform well from the outset, and that will start with a big game against Dijon.”

An ever-stronger link with the public

Today, the players will need all the passion and energy of the Paris Basketball community. Tuomas Iisalo underlined this desire to create a strong bond with the public several times during the pre-season: “We’ve worked hard and we want to play well in order to generate the enthusiasm of our fans. It’s this state of mind that will connect us with them and make them proud to support us. We want to create an intense atmosphere around the team.”

Leon Kratzer, our new German international pivot, makes no secret of his eagerness to feel the soul of Carpentier: “I can’t wait! We’ve had several training sessions here, but now I can’t wait to see Carpentier full of fans and to discover the Parisian public. We’ve worked hard this pre-season and now we want the fans to discover our passion, our game and our determination.”

The magnificent skyline of the adidas Arena

Among the key dates of the season, there will soon be October 8 and a big derby at the Accor Arena against the Mets 92. But there will also be a February 11, 2024 to highlight in your favorite color. Why will that be? Because this home match against Saint Quentin, promoted this season to Betclic ELITE, will have all the hallmarks of a historic event. It will mark Paris Basketball’s official entry into the brand-new adidas Arena, of which it will be the resident club!

An 8,000-seat venue erected in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Arena will offer fans an extraordinary experience, a new way of experiencing a sporting spectacle in Paris. This new place of passion will bring the Club even closer to all the communities that make up Greater Paris.

David Kahn is well aware of the extent to which this top-of-the-range facility will underpin the Club’s change of dimension over the coming months: “Our arena will be the best basketball venue in Europe. It will be incredibly close to the spectators, enabling them to get the most out of the game. It will be a place that will enable all Parisians to come together around the passion that basketball inspires.” While we wait to discover the magnificent adidas Arena, it’s at Carpentier that our Parisians have a date today to open a season like no other!

Come and watch Paris Basketball 2023-2024 make its debut this Sunday against Dijon, at 2.30pm, at the Halle Carpentier, by getting your tickets HERE.

If you’d like to wear the new 23/24 jerseys to the game, click HERE.

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