The NBA may have to rethink the timing of its annual draft. Not the month or the new two-day format, but a tweak to the hour the picks start coming off the board.
Paris is six hours ahead of New York, so French basketball fans eager to see history had to stay up into the wee hours of Thursday morning to see France join the United States as the only countries with three players drafted in the top 10 picks of an NBA draft.
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The NBA may have to rethink the timing of its annual draft. Not the month or the new two-day format, but a tweak to the hour the picks start coming off the board.
Tidjane Salaun, right, greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Charlotte Hornets as the sixth pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Alex Sarr waits for the start of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Alex Sarr, right, greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the second pick in the NBA basketball draft during the first round by the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Zaccharie Risacher, walks across the stage after being selected as the first overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
The first round ended with four Frenchmen drafted: Zaccharie Risacher. Alex Sarr. Tidjane Salaun. Pacome Dadiet. By the end of the draft Thursday evening, Melvin Ajinca made it five when announced as the 51st pick overall by the New York Knicks.
The question going into the draft was whether Risacher or Sarr would be the No. 1 pick overall pick and become the second straight player from France to be the top selection following in the footsteps of last season's eventual Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama.
Atlanta made Risacher that player.
“If I had to give him one advice to him, it would be to ‘just be yourself, don’t change for anything, don’t let the pressure change you, don’t let fame, money whatever.’" Wembanyama said during a French national team news conference in Paris Thursday ahead of the Olympics. "But I know Zach, he’s got it.”
Washington took 7-footer Sarr at No. 2 and not long after Charlotte made the history-making decision to select Salaun at No. 6 overall.
It became a French quartet when the New York Knicks drafted Dadiet as the 25th pick overall. Dadiet, who turns 19 in July, is a developing player at 6-8 who can finish at the rim. He is also a versatile defender who has been honing his game in Germany.
The Knicks made Ajinca their second of four selections in the second round Thursday before the Dallas Mavericks swapped the 58th pick to acquire Ajinca's draft rights.
Risacher (pronounced Ree-zah-shay) said it means a lot for all of France and the country’s booming basketball pipeline to the NBA.
“I know that a lot of France stayed up all night to watch this,” Risacher said." That’s amazing for French basketball, and I’m so happy to be a part of something special for my country. I think it’s going to be more players who will be able to get to the NBA and do something great. I’m really proud to be a part of it.”
This is the second straight year Washington went for a player from France. The Wizards traded up a spot a year ago, swapping lottery picks with Indiana to land Bilal Coulibaly. Washington general manager Will Dawkins said he feels like he got the same question on French basketball talent a year ago.
“It’s only getting better,” Dawkins said. "And I’ll be honest, it’s going to continue to get better, because there are some more guys coming.”
The timing couldn't be better for France, which is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The country Tony Parker win four NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs are a true gold medal threat thanks in part to Minnesota center Rudy Gobert, this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“It’s incredible," Gobert said Thursday during the French national team news conference. "Think about it. Three French players in the top six of the draft. Ten years ago, no one would have believed that.
“I’m very happy for each of them. I’m very happy for the future of French basketball and for the future of the sport,” Gobert added. "It shows that a kid from anywhere in the world can dream that he can be a number one pick or that he can be anything he wants. That’s a beautiful thing.”
Charlotte general manager Jeff Peterson said France truly loves basketball and the NBA now is reaping a generation influenced by players like Parker, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum.
“It’s a very, very strong country when it comes to basketball,” Peterson said. "So I just think that this younger generation, they’ve grown up and they’ve seen it and they’ve loved it. And those guys have been great role models for them.”
Salaun said French players have improved with their impact now being felt in the world.
"It’s just the beginning,” Salaun said.
AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds, Charles Odum, Noah Trister, Steve Reed, Aaron Beard and Associated Press writer Tom Nouvian in Paris contributed to this report.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Tidjane Salaun hugs family and friends after being selected by the Charlotte Hornets as the sixth pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Tidjane Salaun, right, greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Charlotte Hornets as the sixth pick during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Alex Sarr waits for the start of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Alex Sarr, right, greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the second pick in the NBA basketball draft during the first round by the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Zaccharie Risacher, walks across the stage after being selected as the first overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran will hold a runoff presidential election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, an official said Saturday, after an initial vote saw the top candidates not securing an outright win in the lowest turnout poll ever held in the Islamic Republic by percentage.
The election this coming Friday will pit reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Mohsen Eslami, an election spokesman, announced the result in a news conference carried by Iranian state television. He said of 24.5 million votes cast, Pezeshkian got 10.4 million while Jalili received 9.4 million. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf got 3.3 million. Shiite cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi had over 206,000 votes.
Iranian law requires that a winner gets more than 50% of all votes cast. If not, the race’s top two candidates will advance to a runoff a week later. There’s been only one runoff presidential election in Iran’s history: in 2005, when hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bested former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Eslami acknowledged the country's Guardian Council would need to offer formal approval, but the result did not draw any immediate challenge from contenders in the race.
As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from running, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognized monitors.
There were signs of the wider disenchantment of the public with the vote. More than 1 million votes were voided, according to the results, typically a sign of people feeling obligated to cast a ballot but not wanting to select any of the candidates.
The overall turnout was 39.9%, according to the results. The 2021 presidential election that elected Raisi saw a 42% turnout, while the March parliamentary election saw a 41% turnout.
There had been calls for a boycott, including from imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the leaders of the 2009 Green Movement protests who remains under house arrest, has also refused to vote along with his wife, his daughter said.
There’s also been criticism that Pezeshkian represents just another government-approved candidate. In a documentary on the reformist candidate aired by state TV, one woman said her generation was “moving toward the same level” of animosity with the government that Pezeshkian’s generation had in the 1979 revolution.
Raisi, 63, died in the May 19 helicopter crash that also killed the country’s foreign minister and others. He was seen as a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a potential successor. Still, many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions that Iran conducted in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdowns on dissent that followed protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by police over allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.
The voting came as wider tensions have gripped the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups that Tehran arms in the region — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic continues to enrich uranium at near weapons-grade levels and maintains a stockpile large enough to build — should it choose to do so — several nuclear weapons.
Despite the recent unrest, there was only one reported attack around the election. Gunmen opened fire on a van transporting ballot boxes in the restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing two police officers and wounding others, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The province regularly sees violence between security forces and the militant group Jaish al-Adl, as well as drug traffickers.
Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, reformist candidate for the Iranian presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian casts his ballot as he waves to media in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (Majid Khahi, ISNA via AP)
A man casts his ballot during the presidential election as he holds a picture of the late President Ebrahim Raisi in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman fills out her ballot during the Iranian presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to media after casting his vote during the presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians were voting Friday in a snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash last month, as public apathy has become pervasive in the Islamic Republic after years of economic woes, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman prepares to casts her ballot during the presidential election at a polling station inside the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the country's foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to vote for the presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians voted Friday in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, with the race's sole reformist candidate vowing to seek "friendly relations" with the West in an effort to boost his campaign. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman prepares to casts her ballot during the presidential election at the Iranian consulate in Basra southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the country's foreign minister and several other officials. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jourani)
In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, hard-line former Iranian senior nuclear negotiator and candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili casts his ballot in a polling station, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 28, 2024. Iranians are voting in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. (Alireza Sotakabr, ISNA via AP)
