SACRAMENTO (USA) - Maxime Raynaud has enjoyed a very good first season in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings (12.5 points on 57% from the field, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26 minutes) and is now looking to show he can be a factor with France.
There is a very good chance he'll get an opportunity to do that this summer.
"I saw Boris (Diaw, the general manager of the French team) quite a few times during the season," Raynaud said.
"The roster hasn’t been announced yet, so I don’t know anything for sure. But it seems to me that they’re thinking about me for the FIBA windows (two games, in Belgium and against Finland, on July 3 and 6, then two more games at the end of August).
I would take part with great pleasure
"And I would take part with great pleasure. Representing the French national team is a unique opportunity", said the big man who grew up watching Tony Parker and Boris Diaw's generation taking Les Bleus to the EuroBasket title in 2013.
France has amazing depth in the paint these days: Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Alexandre Sarr, Mathias Lessort, and Vincent Poirier, just to name a few. So Raynaud knows the competition for a spot on the team in the coming years will be fierce, and the best way to make his case is to join as soon as this summer to help the team qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Qatar.
Not that it's the most important thing when it comes to picking players for the national team, but Raynaud's close friendship with Victor Wembanyama is not going to hurt his prospects.
The two were teammates at Nanterre and also played alongside each other in the France team at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket in 2019.
Both are also known for being smart (remember, Raynaud did go to Stanford), it's not surprising they used to play Dungeons and Dragons during France's Olympic Training Camp. The role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, is known for attracting individuals with high cognitive potential.
Wemby and Raynaud have also gone hard at each other not just on the basketball court but in chess.
Most important for Raynaud is that he deserves national team consideration on his own merit, as a skilled 2.16m (7ft 1in) center.
He had some really strong performances with the Kings this year, including against Wemby and San Antonio in March when pouring in a season-high 32 points.
Raynaud had 18 double-doubles in points and rebounds this season. Though the Kings struggled with a 22-60 record, he raised eyebrows.
Wembanyama's path to the NBA as the No. 1 pick by the San Antonio Spurs a few years ago in 2023 while Raynaud played four years of American college basketball at Stanford and was then taken 42nd overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Kings.
FIBA