PARIS (France) - France came into the 2024 Olympics Quarter-Finals lacking offensive firepower. Head coach Vincent Collet changed up his starting lineup and got the spark he wanted from Isaia Cordinier.
The athletic wing collected 20 points with 4 three-pointers, and 3 steals in France's 82-73 win over Canada. In the fourth quarter at the free-throw line, he even received MVP chants from the Bercy Arena.
Cordinier is more well-known with the French national team as a defensive stopper. But he shined with the ball in his hands from the outset.
He poured in 10 points alone in the first five minutes, adding 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal for the first quarter. Cordinier then received a major round of applause from the Bercy Arena crowd when finally be subbed out for the first time with just 30 seconds left in the first quarter.
That push from Cordinier continued the entire game with his great play at both ends helping the French past Canada.
"It's an immense satisfaction", he said after the game. "We worked during three days. We approached this game the right way and that gave us a lot of energy. Vincent (Collet) gave us a great motivational speech before the game and that's what we needed to hear."
Canada might not have had Cordinier that high on their scouting report. The 27-year-old did not really contribute much in France's first two games, picking up a combined 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 24 minutes against Brazil and Japan.
After watching Germany build a massive lead in the final group game, French coach Vincent Collet gave more time to Cordinier. And he rewarded the coach for his faith.
In 17 minutes against Germany, Cordinier scored 10 points along with 1 rebound, assist, steal and block each. He's the one who rebelled and try to shake things around with two powerful dunks.
My first shot went in, and then... - Cordinier
"Everybody trusts everybody in this team, starters, the bench, the staff. With this trust and the confidence, we see today the results. And we know we can build from there. Our aggressiveness in defense allowed us to run, to feed our offense and our energy. My first shot went in and then I had a lot of confidence."
Cordinier possesses tremendous athleticism which helps him play high level defense. But it also gives him the opportunity to streak by his defender from the wing and also finish spectacularly in transition.
The Cordinier name has already been at the Olympics. Isaia's father Stephane Cordinier was a French international handball player and he participated at the 1996 Olympics and also helped the country grab third place at the 1997 World Handball Championship.
Isaia Cordinier is also not playing in his first major tournament. He made his debut last summer at the FIBA World Cup 2023. He played a combined 10 minutes in France's first two games, both of them resulting in losses to eliminate Les Bleus from Quarter-Finals contention.
Coach Collet called Cordinier's number in the final group game against Lebanon and he produced 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. And then in the Classification 17-32, Cordinier tallied 8 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists against Iran and finished strong with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists versus Côte d'Ivoire.
Fast forward nearly a year and Cordinier started the game against Canada knowing he could produce when given the chance. And he did just that - providing the game deciding spark.
FIBA