France's Batum prepares for NBA campaign with one eye on World Cup in China

CHARLOTTE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Nic Batum is gearing up for another season in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets but all things related to his native France are never far from his thoughts.

That includes the national team, the one that he has played for at two Olympics, two FIBA Basketball World Cups and four FIBA EuroBaskets.

Batum played for his country every year, from 2004 through 2007 with the junior teams, and from 2008 through 2016 with the senior side, before electing to skip FIBA EuroBasket 2017 for personal reasons.

"Playing at international level is a fantastic experience, and I love it. You discover new players, the competition is very good and it’s interesting to see how it's going to be in China next year. I am sure it's going to be an amazing tournament."- Batum

He returned this summer, though, appearing for Les Bleus in the European Qualifiers for next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in the June-July and September windows.

France, with their long, agile and high-flying 6ft 8in (2.03m) swingman in the lineup, won three of their four games. He was glad to be back.

"I have been playing for so long with the senior national team now, every time with the same passion and motivation," he said to FIBA.basketball. "I'm proud to be French and I'm proud to play for the national team. My NBA career is very important but my international duties are, too. I'm one of the veterans of the team and I take my role very seriously, as I want to keep winning medals and titles with France."

Batum didn't feature in France's first four wins in the Qualifiers. He was thrilled to return to the fold for the third and fourth windows.

"Playing this summer was a very good experience," he said. "It's great to come and play with the guys, share moments with them, get to know some more players and have a great camaraderie with the entire group. We have a lot of talent and being part of the team is always so great."

Batum had wanted to help France punch their ticket for next year's 32-team tournament in China before returning to the NBA's Hornets but a 74-68 upset at Bulgaria on September 13 left them a couple of wins shy of sealing a berth. They rebounded with an 83-67 victory over Finland in Montpellier on September 16.

In the previous window, France won 102-52 at Bosnia and Herzegovina and 84-78 at Russia. France will enter the fifth window - when they are at the Czech Republic on November 30 and at home to Bulgaria on December 3 - one triumph shy of clinching a World Cup spot.

"We need one more win and the goal is to reach the qualification as soon as possible," said Batum. "But it is not the only goal. We want to wrap up the qualifying campaign with no more losses, so the goals are multiple.

"The team has a lot of potential and we have so many players that can be part of the team. That's exciting and I'm very excited to be part of this group of guys. We all want to have France to qualify and to have a great run in China next year, and to be competing against the best teams in the world.

"I'm looking forward to competing in China with the national team. France has been one of the best and most competitive teams in the world the last seven, eight years, and we want to keep being in the same dynamic."- Batum

"It’s getting more and more competitive to win and qualify in the European qualifying zone because plenty of other teams are more competitive and seeing that we keep being very competitive is also proof of how good French basketball is. That's really important for all of us."

Batum had arguably his finest hour in the France jersey at the World Cup in Spain four years ago, leading the team to third place and a spot on the podium. Tony Parker was absent from that tournament, as well as Nando de Colo, a guard who was starting to blossom into one of Europe's top players. Both had been with France when they won FIBA EuroBasket 2013.

"The 2014 tournament was one of the best moments of my career," he recalled. "Being able to reach a medal spot and show the world that we could play without some experienced players was an amazing achievement. We had some great performances and it was great to compete against the best teams in the world."

The win most fans remember was the upset of Spain in the Quarter-Finals. Batum played so well in the tournament that he earned a place in the All-Star Five.

"Playing at international level is a fantastic experience, and I love it," he said. "You discover new players, the competition is very good and it's interesting to see how it's going to be in China next year. I'm sure it's going to be an amazing tournament and I we want to be part of this. The Chinese fans are going to be great, I'm pretty sure about that. It's a country where basketball is huge."

Batum says he and France, once they qualify of course, will be hungry for success in China.

"I want to help France win more medals and we have all the potential and the right to be ambitious, so we will fight for the best," he said. "There is still plenty of time before next summer, but I'm looking forward to competing in China with the national team. France has been one of the best and most competitive teams in the world the last seven, eight  years, and we want to keep being in the same dynamic.

"To achieve that, we need to have great runs in international competitions and mostly win medals and titles. That is what we all want."

FIBA