Guerschon Yabusele
Guerschon Yabusele | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 17, 1995 Dreux, France |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Known for | Playing for New York Knicks, French national basketball team |
Guerschon Yabusele (; pronounced GAIR-shun YAH-boo-ZELL-ay; born December 17, 1995) is a professional basketball player from France currently playing for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA), mainly occupying the power forward role. He also competes internationally with the French national squad, securing silver medals at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.
Regarded as one of the premier international talents in the 2016 NBA draft, Yabusele was picked 16th overall by the Boston Celtics. His tenure with Boston spanned from 2017 through 2019, during which he alternated playing time with their NBA G League team, the Maine Red Claws. Although his minutes were limited, he gained a loyal following among fans and was affectionately nicknamed "Dancing Bear."
Yabusele’s professional journey also includes periods in the Chinese Basketball Association and France’s LNB Pro B league. In 2021, he signed with Real Madrid, where he contributed to winning the esteemed EuroLeague championship in 2023. After delivering an impressive performance at the 2024 Olympics, he secured a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Early life
Born and raised in Dreux, France, Yabusele is the son of parents who emigrated from The Democratic Republic of Congo. Before turning to basketball, he initially trained as a boxer during his youth. He began playing basketball in 2012 within the youth ranks of Chorale Roanne Basket, competing on their under-21 squad.
Chorale Roanne (2013–2015)
Yabusele began his professional career in 2013 with Chorale Roanne competing in France’s second-tier league, LNB Pro B. In his rookie season, he appeared in eight games and averaged 1.5 points per contest. The following year, he showed progress by averaging six points, four rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
Rouen Métropole (2015–2016)
In the summer of 2015, Yabusele signed with Rouen Métropole Basket, a club competing in France’s premier division, LNB Pro A, to enhance his visibility ahead of the NBA draft. He was among 13 international underclassmen and four French prospects who declared for the 2016 NBA draft. Although projections placed him as a late first-round or early second-round pick, he was ultimately selected 16th overall by Boston. Following the draft, Yabusele participated in the 2016 NBA Summer League representing the Celtics.
Shanghai Sharks (2016–2017)
On July 21, 2016, Yabusele inked a deal with the Shanghai Sharks of China’s top professional league, the Chinese Basketball Association. Over a span of 43 games, he posted averages of 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and earned recognition as a CBA All-Star due to his outstanding play.
Maine Red Claws (2017)
Yabusele joined the NBA G League affiliate of Boston, the Maine Red Claws, on March 29, 2017.
Boston Celtics (2017–2019)
Yabusele inked a contract with the Boston Celtics on July 20, 2017. He made his first appearance on October 20, contributing 3 points and securing 1 rebound in just 3 minutes during a victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. Throughout his rookie year, he was frequently assigned to the Maine Red Claws. His personal bests during the 2017–18 campaign included scoring 16 points versus the Brooklyn Nets, pulling down 6 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls, and dishing out 5 assists in a matchup with the Washington Wizards. On July 10, 2019, the Celtics released Yabusele.
Nanjing Monkey Kings (2019–2020)
Yabusele made his return to the CBA by signing with the Nanjing Monkey Kings on August 17, 2019, for the 2019–20 season.
LDLC ASVEL (2020–2021)
On February 25, 2020, Yabusele joined LDLC ASVEL competing in France’s LNB Pro A. He extended his contract with the team on June 1, 2020, maintaining his position within their competitive lineup.
Real Madrid (2021–2024)
Yabusele signed with Spanish elite club Real Madrid on July 12, 2021, participating in both the Liga ACB and EuroLeague. He secured a contract extension on January 9, 2022, committing to remain through the end of the 2024–25 season. His tenure with Real Madrid concluded on August 29, 2024.
Philadelphia 76ers (2024–2025)
Returning to the NBA on August 29, 2024, Yabusele signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. On November 10, he posted career-best figures of 20 points and 8 rebounds in a narrow victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
New York Knicks (2025–present)
On July 7, 2025, Yabusele agreed to a two-year deal worth $11.7 million with the New York Knicks, marking his latest engagement in the NBA.
Junior team
Yabusele represented France at the under-18 level during the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and competed for the under-20 squad at both the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship and 2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
Senior team
He played an important role in France’s silver medal finish at the 2020 Olympics and repeated this success at EuroBasket 2022. Additionally, Yabusele took part in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
During the 2024 Olympics, despite limited early playing time, Yabusele was instrumental in France’s quarter-final victory over Canada, scoring 22 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. In the semi-final against Germany, he contributed 17 points and collected 7 rebounds, helping France reach their second straight Olympic final. In the championship game versus the United States, he tallied 20 points—including a memorable dunk over LeBron James—to secure another silver medal. His outstanding performance earned him a place on the tournament’s All-Second Team.
At EuroBasket 2025, Yabusele led France by scoring a career-high of 36 points during an 83–76 group stage win over Poland.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 33 || 4 || 7.1 || .426 || .324 || .682 || 1.6 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 2.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 41 || 1 || 6.1 || .455 || .321 || .682 || 1.3 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 70 || 43 || 27.1 || .501 || .380 || .725 || 5.6 || 2.1 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 11.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" | Career | 144 || 48 || 16.5 || .489 || .369 || .714 || 3.5 || 1.2 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 6.5
Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 12 || 0 || 4.0 || .111 || .000 || .400 || 0.9 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 0.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 4 || 0 || 3.5 || .500|| .000 || .571 || 0.5 || 0.3|| 0.0 || 0.3 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 16 || 0 || 3.9 || .231 || .000 || .500 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 0.8
EuroLeague
| † | Indicates seasons when Yabusele secured the EuroLeague title |
|- | style="text-align:left;" | 2019–20 | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| ASVEL | 2||1||23.0|| .429|| .400|| —||3.5|| —|| 2.5|| 1.0||8.0||6.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2020–21 | 30||26||25.1|| .465|| .384|| .714||4.2||1.2||0.8||0.6||11.0||11.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2021–22 | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"| Real Madrid | 36|| 34|| 27.6|| .502|| .402|| .789||4.8|| 1.7||1.0||0.3|| 11.9||13.5 |- | style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" | 2022–23† | 29||16||23.8|| .510|| .421|| .710||4.0||1.3||0.8||0.3||9.7||11.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" | 2023–24 |27||13||23.6|||.565|||.461|||.868|||.49|||.10|||.08|||.02|||.05|||.42 |- class="sortbottom"
|style= "text-align:center" colspan= "2"| Career |124|||90|||25.2|||50.4|||41.1|||77-0|||44-|||13-|||09-|||03-|||10-8|||12-4