‘Take me back’: Former Celtic sends message after leading France to Olympic final

‘Take me back:’ Ex-Celtic sends message after guiding France to Olympic final originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Welcome to the Summer of the Dancing Bear.

Guerschon Yabusele was a surprise star player for the French team during the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He was the second in the selection in scoring (12.8 points per game), behind the 2.23 meter tall star player Victor Wembanyama.

Yabusele scored 22 points in France’s surprise quarterfinal win over Canada on Tuesday and was in fine form again in the semifinals on Thursday, scoring a team-high 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds as France defeated Germany to advance to the gold medal game.

Yabusele hasn’t played in the NBA since 2019, when the Boston Celtics, the team that selected him 16th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, let him go after two seasons. But after another strong Olympic performance on Thursday, the 28-year-old appears to be eyeing an NBA comeback.

“You have to tell (the Celtics) to bring me back,” Yabusele told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe with a smile.

Yabusele in Celtics green is probably an understatement: the reigning champions have a strong roster, and Yabusele played his last NBA game five years ago. But C’s fans are likely enjoying watching the 6-foot-1, 275-pound player make his mark on his home country.

Yabusele also seems to be thriving abroad, having spent the past three seasons with Real Madrid, helping the club win two Liga ACB titles (2022 and 2024) and a EuroLeague championship (2023). He averaged 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season with Real Madrid.

After spending the 2016–17 season with the Shanghai Sharks in China, Yabusele played two seasons at the NBA level with Boston. In 2017–18, he averaged 2.4 points in 7.1 minutes per game, and in 2018–19, he averaged 2.3 points in 6.1 minutes per game.

Check out the video below for a, ahem, colorful tribute NBC Sports Boston made to Yabusele following his release in 2019.