Watch the Charlotte Hornets face the Milwaukee Bucks in Paris on Friday at 8pm on a free live stream on skysports.com, Sky Sports app and Sky Sports' YouTube channel
Saturday 25 January 2020 09:58, UK
Nicolas Batum has come a long way in 17 years, just to return to the same place.
As a youngster, he looked to follow in the footsteps of late father Richard, who was also a basketball player.
He spent the entirety of his teens dedicating himself to his craft and, already harbouring hopes of playing in the league himself one day, he attended a preseason game in Paris in 2003 between the Spurs and the Grizzlies.
It served to reinforce his determination to follow in the footsteps of France's NBA trailblazer Tony Parker and Batum was part of the junior French national team that won the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, before being named the MVP of the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where France won gold.
Then, after two years as a pro with Le Mans Sarthe in France, he declared himself for the 2008 NBA Draft and was picked 25th by the Houston Rockets, though he immediately headed to the Portland Trail Blazers in a pre-arranged trade.
Batum started as a rookie for the Blazers and through most of his seven seasons in Portland before moving to the Hornets in a 2015 trade.
After a career-best first season in Charlotte, Batum landed a five-year $120m contract, the biggest in franchise history.
Last season, he ticked off a childhood dream by playing with compatriot Parker as he wound up his career in Charlotte.
And now he's set to tick off another as he's finally getting to feature in an NBA game in his home country when the Charlotte Hornets face the Milwaukee Bucks at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris on Friday - and he cannot wait.
"The first NBA game I watched live was a preseason one in Paris between San Antonio and Memphis in 2003," recalled Batum. "I was sitting way up high in the same arena we're going to be playing in. To be there 17 years later and for myself to be on the court is going to be something special.
"When I watched that game, I thought, 'that'd be cool one day. That could be me down there.' I was 14 years old and I'm now 31. To be on that court as a French kid, it's special."
Team-mate Bismack Biyombo has already experienced the buzz of playing in an NBA game on his home continents and is pleased that Batum is also going to get to enjoy that feeling.
He also hopes, just as it did for Batum 17 years ago, it will inspire the next generation of potential young NBA stars to follow their dreams.
Biyombo said: "We should all be excited for him. It's a good opportunity for him to play in front of his people. It's a dream come true for him seeing this game because it's probably going to inspire a lot more kids. That's very important - inspiring the next generation. He'll be able to do that and I'm excited to see him do it."
Batum has previously joked that he's had to sort out a bigger number of tickets for this game than any other in his career, but will he be nervous playing in his home country?
"I don't know how I'm going to react," he said. "'I'm going to have a lot of family and friends go there. A lot of familiar faces. It's going to be a good moment.
"I'm just going to try and enjoy it and hopefully have a good game. We're playing against a good team and we still have a game to play. I'll soak in the moment for a little while and just try and stay focused."
Watch the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Charlotte Hornets in Paris on Friday at 8pm for free via a live stream on skysports.com, Sky Sports app and the Sky Sports YouTube channel.
