French teen phenom Theo Maledon debuts as millennials shine

ESPOO (Finland) - Talented French teenager Théo Maledon made his much-anticipated national senior debut in a frenzied atmosphere against Finland on Thursday as a new wave of emerging stars made their mark on Gameday 11 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers.

The 1.91m (6ft3in) point guard appeared undaunted in the hostile setting of a packed Espoo Metro Arena as he drew the start, drained a three-pointer and grabbed three rebounds in 15 minutes of action as France fell to Finland 76-69 in Group K.

Making his debut for France at just 17 years and eight months of age, Maledon had plenty of spotlight on him after a highly successful junior career highlighted by winning the title at the FIBA European U16 Championship in 2017 and being part of France’s runners-up campaign at last summer's FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.

His enormous potential has earned him lofty comparisons to French and NBA legend Tony Parker, who made his senior debut slighter older than Maledon at 18 years and 6 months of age.

Parker and Maledon both grew up in the suburbs of Rouen.

Even though he had a taste of the big stage, Maledon was disappointed with his team's tight loss even though the result didn't impact France all that much, given the fact they have already secured their ticket to China and secured top spot in Group K.

"The only thing that stays with me is that we lost," he said. "Obviously that won't stay as a good memory for my senior debut. We were dominated in terms of aggressiveness and you can clearly see that with all the offensive rebounds they got."

Maledon, whose parents Claude and Sylvie were both accomplished basketball players, has showcased his poise at ASVEL in the French league and earned plaudits from respected figures around the France senior team.

"You feel like you're dealing with a 28-30 year old adult," Patrick Beesley, General Manager of France's senior men's team, told French newspaper L'Equipe of Maledon, who turns 18 on June 12. "He is mature and doesn't seem in any way vulnerable in this new environment which could impress. Even Tony (Parker) was more apprehensive on his debut."

Maledon wasn't the only millennial tapping into his bag of tricks on Thursday, with 18-year-old Mikael Jantunen a key contributor in Finland’s crucial victory to keep alive their dreams of qualifying for the FIBA World Cup.

In a valuable 22 minutes of court time, the 2.03m (6ft 8in) forward scored 6 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to help Finland set up a do-or-die game against Russia in Perm on Sunday.

Rounding out an exciting wave of future stars, Deni Avdija made his senior debut in Israel's 81-77 victory over Germany in Tel Aviv. The 18-year-old only played 10 minutes but had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and got on the board with a made free throw.

Welcome 🇮🇱Deni Avdija & Gil Beni🇮🇱!#FIBAWC #ThisIsMyHouse @TherealIBBA pic.twitter.com/LEg7KHiHCY

— Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) February 21, 2019

The 2.05m (6ft 8in) forward was the MVP at the Basketball Without Borders Europe Camp last year and further enhanced his growing reputation when he was named MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Charlotte last week.

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