Sylvain Francisco

French basketball player (born 1997)

Sylvain Francisco

Francisco with France in 2023

No. 3 – Žalgiris Kaunas
Position| Point guard
League| LKL
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born|  (1997-10-10) 10 October 1997 (age 26)
Créteil, France
Nationality| French / American
Listed height| 6 ft 1.25 in (1.86 m)
Listed weight| 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school| Elev8 Sports Institute (Delray Beach)
Liberty Christian Prep School (Tavares)
West Oaks Academy (Orlando)
NBA draft| 2019: undrafted
Playing career| 2017–present
Career history
2017–2018| Metropolitans 92
2018–2020| Paris Basketball
2020–2021| Chorale Roanne
2021–2022| Manresa
2022–2023| Peristeri
2023–2024| Bayern Munich
2024–present| Žalgiris Kaunas
Career highlights and awards

* German Cup winner (2024)
* German Cup MVP (2024)
* All-Greek League First Team (2023)

Sylvain Francisco (born 10 October 1997) is a French professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the French national team in international competition. Francisco holds both French and American citizenship.[1][2]

## Early life and career

[edit]

Sylvain Francisco is of Angolan ethnicity, as his parents are from Angola. They left the country and moved to France, due to the country's civil war. Francisco, who was born in Créteil, France, grew up in the Paris area, along with eight siblings. He played youth club basketball with Paris Basket Racing, Villemomble Sports, and AL Roche-la-Molière.

He then pursued his secondary education in Florida, in the USA, in 2014. He played high school basketball at the Elev8 Sports Institute, in Delray Beach, during the 2014–15 season. He also played high school basketball with Liberty Christian Preparatory School, in Tavares, during the 2015–16 season, and at West Oaks Academy, in Orlando, during the 2016–17 season. After high school, Francisco got some offers to play college basketball from some NCAA Division I programs, but he opted instead to return to France to play professionally.

## Professional career

[edit]

Francisco began his pro club career with Levallois Metropolitans in the French men's basketball first division. At the end of the 2017–2018 season, he signed his first professional contract with the Levallois club. However, wanting to join the G-League and eventually the NBA, he did not show up to the club's training the following summer.[3] He finally signed with Paris Basketball in the LNB Pro B in December 2018.[4] After two seasons with Paris Basketball, he returned to the French first division by signing with the Chorale Roanne for the 2020–2021 season.[5]

Francisco left Roanne in June 2021,[6] and signed with the Spanish club Manresa in Liga Endesa, end of August 2022.[7] In the summer of 2022, he participated in the NBA Summer League with the Milwaukee Bucks.[8]

For the 2022–2023 season, Francisco signed with Peristeri of the Greek Basket League.[9] In 31 Greek national domestic league games, he averaged 12.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.7 turnovers, playing around 28 minutes per contest. He also averaged 16.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, in 9 games played in the European-wide secondary level FIBA Champions League's 2022–2023 season. On 29 June 2023, he parted ways with the Greek club.

On July 20, 2023, he signed with Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and EuroLeague.[10] On February 18, 2024, he won the BBL-Pokal with Bayern following a win in the final over Ratiopharm Ulm. Francisco was named the Final Four MVP.[11]

On July 1, 2024, Francisco signed a two-year (1+1) deal with Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague.[12]

## National team career

[edit]

Francisco was a member of the junior French national teams. He played with France's junior national team at the 2016 FIBA U20 European Championship. On 24 February 2022, Francisco landed his first selection with the senior French national team, for the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.[13] He also represented France at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

## Career statistics

[edit]

Legend  GP  | Games played  |  GS | Games started  |  MPG | Minutes per game

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FG% | Field-goal percentage  |  3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage  |  FT% | Free-throw percentage
RPG | Rebounds per game  |  APG | Assists per game  |  SPG | Steals per game
BPG | Blocks per game  |  PPG | Points per game  |  PIR | Performance Index Rating
Bold | Career high

### EuroLeague

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR

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2023–24 | Bayern Munich | 33 | 0 | 19.3 | .387 | .354 | .814 | 1.7 | 3.2 | .7 | — | 10.6 | 10.7
Career  | 33 | 0 | 19.3 | .387 | .354 | .814 | 1.7 | 3.2 | .7 | — | 10.6 | 10.7

### EuroCup

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR

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2017–18 | Metropolitans 92 | 10 | 2 | 16.6 | .591 | .500 | .727 | 1.5 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 7.2 | 7.0
Career  | 10 | 2 | 16.6 | .591 | .500 | .727 | 1.5 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 7.2 | 7.0

### Basketball Champions League

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

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2021–22 | Manresa | 16 | 1 | 19.9 | .390 | .311 | .844 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | .1 | 11.7
2022–23 | Peristeri | 9 | 5 | 31.5 | .447 | .344 | .780 | 2.1 | 5.8 | 1.8 | .2 | 16.2
Career  | 25 | 6 | 24.0 | .412 | .324 | .808 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 1.4 | .1 | 13.4

### Domestic leagues

[edit]

Year  | Team  | League  | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

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2017–18 |  Metropolitans 92 | Pro A | 24 | 12.7 | .280 | .212 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 1.9 | .4 | .1 | 3.5
2018–19 |  Paris | Pro B | 26 | 23.5 | .386 | .353 | .738 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.5 | .1 | 9.6
2019–20 |  Paris | Pro B | 23 | 30.6 | .386 | .321 | .716 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 1.9 | .2 | 13.1
2020–21 |  Chorale Roanne | LNB Élite | 32 | 30.3 | .425 | .284 | .707 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 1.9 | .2 | 14.7
2021–22 |  Manresa | ACB | 30 | 18.1 | .402 | .342 | .730 | 1.2 | 3.3 | .9 | .2 | 10.7
2022–23 |  Peristeri | HEBA A1 | 31 | 27.7 | .409 | .298 | .690 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 1.5 | .1 | 12.6
2023–24 |  Bayern Munich | BBL | 33 | 18.1 | .467 | .397 | .794 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 1.1 | — | 11.7

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sylvain Francisco Player Profile, Peristeri BC". RealGM. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
2. ^ "Sylvain FRANCISCO at the Basketball Champions League - BCL 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
3. ^ Mamou, Shaï (19 September 2018). "Sylvain Francisco au clash pour rentrer aux Etats-Unis ?". BasketSession.com (in French). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
4. ^ "Sylvain Francisco Renforce le Paris Basketball". Bebasket. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
5. ^ "OFFICIEL : SYLVAIN FRANCISCO DÉBARQUE À ROANNE". Bebasket. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020.
6. ^ "Le meneur Sylvain Francisco libéré par Roanne | Basket Europe" (in French). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
7. ^ Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (29 August 2021). "Sylvain Francisco va bien jouer pour Manresa cette saison". bebasket.fr. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
8. ^ Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (29 June 2022). "Sylvain Francisco à la Summer League avec Milwaukee". bebasket.fr.
9. ^ Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (12 September 2022). "Sylvain Francisco s'engage avec le club grec de Peristéri". bebasket.fr.
10. ^ "Bayern Basketball announced Sylvain Francisco". Sportando. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
11. ^ "18.02.2024 - FCB vs ULM". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
12. ^ "Sylvain Francisco joins Zalgiris Kaunas". Sportando. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
13. ^ Théo Quintard (26 February 2022). "Après une sortie plutôt positive contre le Portugal jeudi, Sylvain Francisco veut confirmer". bebasket.fr. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* EuroLeague.net Profile
* FIBA Profile
* FIBA Champions League Profile
* RealGM.com Profile
* ProBallers.com Profile
* Eurobasket.com Profile
* Spanish League Profile (in Spanish)

* v
* t
* e

Žalgiris current roster

* 1 Wallace
* 3 Francisco
* 4 Lekavičius
* 8 Brazdeikis
* 9 Giedraitis
* 15 Birutis
* 18 Smailagić
* 21 Mitchell
* 33 Dimša
* 42 Dunston
* 45 Manek
* 51 Butkevičius
* 91 Sirvydis
* 92 Ulanovas (C)

* Head coach: Trinchieri
* Assistant coaches: Menetti
* Sabonis
* Krapikas
* Pliauga
* Seibutis

*[GP]: Games played
*[GS]: Games started
*[MPG]: Minutes per game
*[FG%]: Field goal percentage
*[3P%]: 3-point field-goal percentage
*[FT%]: Free-throw percentage
*[RPG]: Rebounds per game
*[APG]: Assists per game
*[SPG]: Steals per game
*[BPG]: Blocks per game
*[PPG]: Points per game
*[PIR]: Performance Index Rating
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template