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Former New York Knicks lottery pick Frank Ntilikina was ruled out for France in the 2023 FIBA World Cup due to a hamstring injury.
Ntilkina suffered the injury during France’s 90-72 win over Lithuania in a friendly last August 9, Wednesday. He left the game with 3:18 remaining in the fourth quarter after pulling his hamstring while bringing down the ball and never returned.
Further tests revealed that Ntilikina will not recover in time for the tournament slated in Asia later this month, according to the French Basketball Federation.
It was a big blow to France as the 25-year-old French guard just scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds to pick up the slack for current Knicks guard Evan Fournier, who missed the game with a sprained ankle.
Ntilikina was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. But he failed to live up to his billing throughout his first four seasons with the Knicks. He spent the last two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. After the Mavericks did not re-sign him, the Charlotte Hornets picked him up in free agency and signed him to a partially guaranteed one-year deal.
In six seasons in the NBA, Ntilikina averaged 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 17.1 minutes of playing time.
Luka Dončić Skips Facing Jalen Brunson
Luka Dončić will skip the Slovenia-Team USA friendly on Saturday in Spain as a precautionary measure.
This marks the second time in three matchups that either Dončić or Knicks star Jalen Brunson is unavailable since the former Mavericks teammates parted ways last summer.
According to the Basketball Federation of Slovenia, Dončić took a blow to his knee in the second quarter of their 99-79 loss to top-ranked Spain yesterday, August 11, in another tuneup game.
“Luka Dončić will miss today’s match against the United States of America as a precaution. The captain #mojtim received an unfavorable blow in the second quarter of yesterday’s match, and in the camp of the national team a few days before leaving for Japan, they do not want to leave anything to chance,” Basketball Federation of Slovenia posted on their official Twitter (rebranded as “X”) account a few hours before the 3:30 p.m. (ET) tip-off.
Jalen Brunson Reflects on Relationship With Luka Dončić
Brunson and Dončić remained friends even after the former bolted Dallas for New York in last year’s free agency.
Ahead of what should have been their second face-off since his departure, Brunson reflected on his relationship with the Mavericks star.
“That’s my brother,” Brunson told The Athletic of Dončić. “We got drafted together. I’ve been watching him grow since meeting him for the first time, seeing the player he is now. He’s gotten better and better each year to the point where he’s a top-five player, an MVP candidate, year in and year out, so whenever I get a chance to share the court with him, either with him or against him, it’s always been special. I’ve got nothing but love for him.”
On Saturday, Slovenia announced that Dončić will skip the friendly against Team USA as a precautionary measure.
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