Guerschon Yabusele will always have Paris —and the poster of his highlight dunk over LeBron James
Yabusele is prepared to take full advantage of his second opportunity in the NBA, where he is willing to do the dirty work to stick around.
Guerschon Yabusele authored the play, but his wife may have one-upped the 6-foot-8, 265-pound forward. Three weeks after he arrived in Philadelphia, Yabusele — whose breakout performance for France during the Paris Olympics included a vicious dunk above LeBron James — received a large, unexpected package at his home. She had gifted him an oversized poster of the dunk on James, the captain of Team USA’s gold medal squad.
“I think this memory, this feeling, that moment,” Yabusele said Wednesday night, “will stay forever.”
Of course, not every play can be poster-worthy, but Yabusele’s contributions in the Sixers’ season-opening 124-109 loss to the visiting Milwaukee Bucks may portend how he can make the most of his second chance in the NBA.
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“Pretty good,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said of Yabusele’s minutes postgame. “I think pretty solid. I think, again, he provided some pick-and-pop, he provided some finishing …”
Yabusele finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 25 minutes before fouling out with 4 minutes, 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Nurse, now in his second season leading the Sixers, said Yabusele was likely on the “tough end of some of those fouls.”
He added that Yabusele, who signed with the team Aug. 29 after helping France earn silver in Paris, would likely see more time at power forward when Joel Embiid plays.
Embiid is expected to miss the first three games of the season, the Sixers announced this week. Andre Drummond started in Embiid’s stead, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Yabusele, who was drafted 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in 2016, showed flashes Wednesday of the athleticism that helped frame James for posterity during the gold medal game in Paris.
His leaning jumper banked in from just inside the three-point line moments before the halftime buzzer and left the Sixers trailing, 58-47, at intermission.
That play followed a flurry that included an offensive rebound, a steal, and a pass with aplomb that hit Drummond, who, after a video review, was called for an offensive foul.
It was a sequence Yabusele’s younger self may not have pulled off.
“[Having] a better pace on the court, you know,” Yabusele said of what he learned from his first stint in the league. “Just be more aggressive reading the pick and roll, reading the defense, but also on offense being able to make a play. Either to score or find guys open … just reading the game in general. I think I got way better at it.”
So perhaps his skill set hasn’t changed much since his days in Boston, where he appeared sparingly across 74 games.
International seasoning, he believes, certainly helped his confidence.
In 2022 and 2024, Yabusele helped Real Madrid win two Liga ACB championships and a Euroleague title (2023).
“After the league,” Yabusele said, “I’ve been moving a little bit around … being back to China, but also went to Real Madrid, which is like one of the best teams in Europe.
“Being able to be out there with those guys and [win] championships, I was just learning, year after year. So my understanding of the game definitely got higher and better.”
That knowledge, and doing the little things, could mean a lasting place in the NBA this time around. Still, he will always have Paris … and that poster.
“I feel like I am really feeling blessed about everything,” he said. “I put a lot of work in, especially that same season we were in Madrid. And then in the summer, then being able to come back in the [NBA] for me was just the cherry on the cake. So I was just happy to be back out [tonight] and just try to do my best, play as hard as I can to be able to stay over here. I’m looking forward to having a great year with the 76ers, too.”