A successful start for Paris in Nancy

Published on September 27, 2026

A winning start to the season ! Trailing by 10 points with 7 minutes to go, Paris Basketball escaped the trap set by Nancy on Saturday in their away fixture on the opening day of the Betclic ÉLITE (78–73).

At home, Nancy are a force to be reckoned with in the paint! Their outside-inside connection, built around screens, threw our defence off balance for a while. After a shaky start to the game, Paris Basketball turned things round with their all-out pressure, spearheaded by Frank. In his debut for Paris, the French international is already showcasing the full extent of his elite defensive skills. His 2.10-metre wingspan is a major nuisance to the opposition’s ball-handlers. Whilst the opposition’s big men are scoring freely under the basket, their guards are struggling from beyond the arc. A problem our team certainly doesn’t face! As the second quarter got underway, our players caught fire from long range. In the space of a few seconds, Jared, Seba and Nadir racked up three-pointers one after another. Forced to call a time-out, Sylvain Lauthié’s men limit the damage in this first quarter (21–15), though they fail to regain their long-range accuracy. With no points scored from beyond the arc until the quarter-hour mark, SLUC rely on rebounds and free throws to reduce the deficit. Faced with this comeback, Paris played the TJ card! Mid-range shots, drives, steals… our forward held the home side at bay for a while before they took the lead. Trailing by a whisker, Nadir and then Jared at the buzzer allowed us to retain the lead as we headed into the changing rooms (35–32).

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Nancy are back in the lead! Although Captain Seba gets us off to a flying start with a clinical catch-and-shoot, the home side respond immediately. Whilst they finally find their range from distance, our Parisians strike back on the break through our American duo, Jared and TJ. Faced with a very aggressive defence on our backcourt, Paris Basketball prioritise scoring in the paint. However, despite a stronger rebounding presence, Nancy’s efficiency outweighs our volume (51–56). Once again, our side strikes first through Nadir. But once again, our opponents set the Palais des Sports Jean Weille alight with three-pointers. We’re now just four possessions behind Nancy! This is the moment our players choose to step up a gear. Spurred on by Seba, Léo’s teammates suddenly threw the Grand Est side off their stride. TJ brought us back within striking distance before Prince Paris put us in front. Hampered by Kevin Marsillon-Noleo’s five fouls, SLUC lost their mojo and made mistake after mistake at both ends of the court. Nadir sealed the deal once and for all with his signature step-back shot from behind the arc (78–73).

Paris Basketball really had to step up towards the end of the match! After being under pressure for much of the second quarter, Maxime Lefèvre’s side managed to step up their game at just the right moment. A vital victory to kick off our regular season.

The start of this week will be marked by Paris Basketball’s grand return to the adidas arena against Partizan Belgrade ! A memorable EuroLeague evening – you can snap up the last remaining tickets by clicking right here here.

Partizan Belgrade

Take your seats !