French basketball sensation who has also played for the WNBA’s New York Liberty, Marine Johannes carries her game in a dynamic and flashy playing style. As she grew up watching legendary NBA players, Johannes has always tried to recreate those movements which led her to develop exceptional passing skills and create scoring opportunities for her teammates. Moreover, her knack for making difficult shots, especially her one-legged 3-pointers, makes her an outstanding scorer. This is the loudness of her on-court presence!

However, off the court, Johannes is known for being shy and likes to keep her personal life private. And, that’s why, we are here to dig a little deeper into the different aspects of what her off-court life looks like. But no, at present Marine Johannes is not dating anyone and is focusing on capitalizing on her dribbles for her team.

How Marine Johannes’ parents shaped her life from childhood

Her story began with her birth in a family of three, Geraldine and Lionel Johannes, and their older daughter Jennifer, who lived in a pretty home in Bonnebosq, Lisieux, France. Growing up, she used to have posters in her bedroom with dreams filled in her head. In the last two decades of her life, her parents have been nothing short of a strong support system.

Her father, Lionel played rugby in school. Although he didn’t pursue it because of disinterest, he understood the mindset of his athletic daughter. But, her parents had to use the hit-and-trial method to finally arrive at basketball. At first, they tried football, but that didn’t make her happy as she was the only girl on the team. And their daughter being fast did not make things easy as they were still on a quest to find something equal to quench her energy. As a result, they turned to judo, but she didn’t try it at all. Her destiny was waiting right around the corner.

Having an aversion to judo, Marine Johannes and her parents found a basketball hall right next door, the Pont-l’Eveque club. And, basketball being a fast-paced game immediately attracted Johannes’ attention.

Lionel and Geraldine knew that playing a team sport would introduce their shy daughters to some openness. Hence, they went to sign both of them up for basketball. However, Jennifer ended up dancing and pony riding but the trick worked for Johannes.

Both Lionel and Geraldine would feel proud when other parents would come by and tell them how good and fast Johannes’ game was. It was a time when magazines and DVDs were prominent, and so, Lionel brought a portable screen for Johannes on which she would put her NBA DVD and spend hours watching Michael Jordan and Jason Williams.

However, she had one favorite player close to home, Tony Parker. He was like the mighty god to her. And so, she would urge Lionel to take her to Parker’s games where he played for the French team.

Her passion for Tony Parker made Lionel and Geraldine collect Parker’s singing record along with piles of magazines and DVDs for Johannes, which they still have. Looking at their daughter, Lionel and Geraldine were in awe as she lived and breathed basketball.

Johannes’ strong passion for basketball

“I want to become a professional basketball player,” an 8-year-old Marine Johannes said to her parents. Her life revolved around basketball. “That was a kid who said that. Basketball was her thing, her passion, her life. I never held her back, never said no. The most important thing for parents is to see their children do something they like and feel good about. I never thought Marine would be a pro at it. I didn’t even know you could make a living playing basketball. She did it,” said Lionel amazed by his daughter’s athletic potential and relentless energy and determination.

However, Johannes’ style of play didn’t always please everyone, including her coach, as she tried to reproduce what she had seen in those NBA videos. But then, it was time to grow her game and participate in the inter-league tournaments. For that, she had to go to Mondeville, which wasn’t that far but Johannes was shy so she wasn’t ready to leave home, but her parents encouraged her to go ahead.

No matter what, Lionel and Geraldine have always been supportive of Johannes as she kept evolving her game with time. As a result, she has now reached a level where she has led her national team to the path of realizing that Olympic dream of winning gold.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger