Nicolas Batum talks in favor of Thomas Heurtel's return to French NT / News - Basketnews.com

Nicolas Batum says it's a shame that he has to address the Thomas Heurtel case: "I have always said that you have to take Thomas because he will give you the quality time [on the court] that will save your competition."

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Excluded from the French national team following his signing in Russia, point guard Thomas Heurtel received support from France's captain Nicolas Batum.

Thomas Heurtel

Position:PG, SGAge:33Height:188 cmWeight:91 kgBirth place:FranceProfileNewsStatistics

Los Angeles Clippers forward gave a lengthy interview to Basket USA, where he backed the idea of having Heurtel on the team in the upcoming major basketball events.

"He made a personal choice," Batum commented on Heurtel's arrival to Zenit. "We know very well that he is against the war, he is not for Russian aggression in Ukraine. You shouldn't be stupid either. We only see the negative points about this guy.

He's been on our national team for ten years. When called, I never heard a refusal. In 2014, he saved us against Spain. And every time he comes back, he does the job. And each time, he saves us. I have always said: you have to take Thomas Heurtel because he will give you the quality time [on the court] that will save your competition," Batum praised his colleague.

"Even if he made a personal choice, we must not question everything he did for France, because he is one of the rare guys who has always been present," the NBA player emphasized. "And Thomas never said anything, even when he hadn't been taken for a tournament. I respect that a lot.

Do I have a say as captain? I don't know what will happen this upcoming summer. We also saw a lot of new players who did well. But it's a shame to have come to this [discussion]."

French Basketball Federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat multiple times said that he would not like to see Heurtel on the team, meanwhile, French NT general manager Boris Diaw doesn't rule out Thomas Heurtel from returning to the squad.

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.