Career: Cholet (France-Pro A, 1987-1995), Pau-Orthez (France-Pro A, 1995-1997), Virtus Kinder Bologna (Italy-Lega, 1997-2003), Dallas Mavericks (NBA, 2003), NBA Rights traded to the Golden State Warriors in September 2003 but signed with Pamesa Valencia (Spain-ACB, 2003-…).
No doubt Antoine is the best French player in history. Of course, this is before knowing how many NBA rings Tony Parker will end-up with... Won Euroleague (1998), ULEB Cup (2001), 2 Lega and 3 Italian Cups with Kinder Bologna. That’s why, in “Basket City”, people started to call him “Le Roi”… After a frustrating experience with the Mavericks (11 games, 1,5 ppg shooting 22%), Antoine went to Valencia where his nickname was rapidly translated to: “El Rey”. Was raised 200 meters away from the gym of Cholet, where he started his professional career at 16. Was 5 times elected French league MVP, the first one before he even turned 19, in 1990. Won a silver Medal at the Sydney Olympics where he saved France in the first round by scoring 28 points the last 12 minutes against China Took a controversial retirement from the NT two months before EuroBasket 2001 because of a conflict with French federation. Experienced a possible career ending injury in 2004 (Achilles tendon) but had a strong come back with Valencia by the end of last season. Decided to come back to the NT because he appreciates Claude Bergeaud’s ethics and perception of team spirit. |
