French contingency holds some serious contention in this year’s NBA drafts. After Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher, another worthy representative of the “land of the Franks” who can be a bright future prospect for many franchises, is Tidjane Salaun. However, he is not the sole member of his family capable of holding the French flag high. Seemingly, his elder sister Janelle Salaun has made quite a reputation for herself and is among the top European prospects at the moment.

So much so that the national team has deemed her worthy to appear in the 2024 edition of the Paris Olympics. However, her summit to such acknowledgment has an interesting story behind it.

Rise of Janelle Salaun as an efficient baller

Born on September 5, 2001, in Orly, a suburb of Paris, Janelle was familiar with the sport, courtesy of her parents being passionate about it. Moreover, both of them have spent their fair share of time on the hardwood, exhibiting their talent. Anyhow, the 22-year-old cites the inspiration for her skills, versatility, and determination to NBA stalwarts such as Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards. But she credits the development of her competitive spirit to her brother Tidjane Salaun. Both of them grew up together, perfecting their aptitude for the game.

This eventually led to her advent in the National Team Youth in 2017. Being a part of the Division A FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship, Salaun participated in 7 games and compiled an average of 4.9 in points as well as rebounds. The following year, she was included in the team for the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup and U18 Women’s European Championship.

Her desire to realize her true potential ultimately resulted in her numbers witnessing a consistent surge. Therefore, the 2019 edition of the U18 Women’s European Championship saw her garner a scoring rate of 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in 7 games played with an efficiency ratio of 11.9. This opened the professional doors for her and she became a hot prospect for many clubs.

Salaun’s professional journey

In 2020, Janelle Salaun was scouted by the Carolo Basket. In her rookie season, she was given a chance on the hardwood on 11 occasions but could only secure an average of 2.5 PPG and 2.2 RPG. Nonetheless, she continued her grinding in the EuroCup Women and joined the ESBVA-LM in 2021. Although she could participate in only 5 games that season, her numbers showed significant improvements from that of last year’s.

This compelled her current franchise Villeneuve d’Ascq LM to include her in their roster in 2022. Their decision brought them positive results as her 8-game participation brought them a double-digit scoring average of 10.1 points in each contest. However, it was her ability to guard all five positions that transformed her into one of the best on-ball defenders in the EuroLeague.

In addition to this, by prioritizing her physical conditioning and agility, she soon became a permanent starter in the locker room at subsequent times. As a result, Villeneuve d’Ascq LM made it to the championship game in the 2024 season on the back of her exemplary performance. In the 19 games that she was a part of, she averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. On the back of such an inspired season, Janelle Salaün earned her call for France’s Paris Olympic team this summer.

The Olympic stage set for Janelle Salaun to shine

After having the best year of her basketball career, the 22-year-old will now be one of 18 members representing the national team in this year’s Olympics. The event marks a special occasion for her as she will get a chance to showcase her skills in front of her home crowd.

Just before her Final Four encounter, Salaun reflected on how her participation in the 2024 edition marks a significant stage of life. She said, “The Olympics, especially in my hometown, would be an extraordinary honor. It’s about representing my country on the world stage and inspiring others.” 

Hardly anyone would argue that Janelle Salaun’s addition to the will provide a huge boost to their Gold Medal aspirations. After being runners-up in 2012, these French women will look to capitalize on their home conditions and go one step further. Further, there will be countless eyes on Salaun, as she certainly is one of the viable upcoming options for the franchises in the WNBA.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.