Q. Obviously there's been a lot of French players drafted into the NBA in recent years. What personally do you think is the reason behind that, and why are so many French players now coming to the NBA and drafted so much higher than they used to be?
NOA ESSENGUE: I think that's not only French. I think that's Europe in general. We do a good job of teaching young people to go to the gym, always work hard and add some good work ethics.
Q. What do you think as you were developing, what made you go to Ratiopharm in the German league as you were going as the best way to get to the NBA?
NOA ESSENGUE: I think nothing special. Pretty much like everybody, just work hard, go to the gym. If you're on a bad day, a good day, go to the gym no matter what. I think that's the most important thing.
Q. You're going to be playing with and against all these players that you probably dreamed of playing with and against. What are your emotions knowing that you're going to be playing against players who took away the chance for France to win the gold medal in Paris?
NOA ESSENGUE: Yeah, that's like another motivation to play against all that, just with the French national team. Yeah, I'm from France, so I just want to beat them and put like, yeah, we're ready for 2028.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports