France considered naturalizing Mike James / News - Basketnews.com

The French Federation was approached by Mike James' representatives with the idea of him playing for France after receiving a French passport. The FFBB explored the possibility, but ultimately, the process got delayed and didn't work out.

Credit: IPA/SIPA - Scanpix Credit IPA/SIPA - Scanpix

The French national team candidates were announced on Thursday in a public event. After it ended, the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) confirmed AS Monaco guard Mike James wanted to represent their squad.

Points this season

47%81,8Points made:81,8Accuracy:46,7%Place in standings:8Record max:107Record min:59Best scorer:Mike JamesTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

According to L'Equipe, the representatives of Mike James approached the FFBB, asking whether it would be possible for him to play for France.

BN+ subscribers had the opportunity to learn about it much earlier. The French basketball federation interest in Mike James was posted in the BN Insider update on April 9.

The FFBB started exploring the possibility last year, but the process was delayed due to a belief that Joel Embiid would choose France instead of Team USA, having promised earlier to French President Emmanuel Macron he would do that, L'Equipe notes.

After Embiid's reversal, the FFBB encountered uncertainties regarding the obtainment of Mike James' French passport.

"We do not have the culture of other nations which use naturalized players in a systematic way. But we have a duty to explore all possibilities. In this case, we were asked, we looked at it and quickly established that it was not a question," an unnamed executive told L'Equipe.

Mike James held talks with Latvia last summer about playing for their national team.

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.