Maxime Raynaud post-ASB (16 GP):
17.9 PPG on 65.1% TS, 9.3 RPG, 2.1 APG
22yo 7-footer with a ton of offensive skill (Brett Usher via X)
France could have this guy with Wemby, Gobert, and Alex Sarr in their frontcourt at the next Olympics… god damn
Diabaté is better then Sarr and Raynault for now
You can say he’s more useful than Sarr at this point and I would agree but better, no way. Sarr has shown star potential and Moussa is a limited player who’s excellent at doing the dirty work, offensive rebounding, setting screens, etc. Can’t really compare the two
Yes you can, Sarr has a lot of upside, but this season it’s not close between the two if you want to chose who helps you win games more
He helps you win games because Charlotte has Lamelo, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Kon Knueppel in the starting five so all they need out of their center is someone to do the dirty work, just like Neemias Queta on the Celtics. At this point Sarr is probably the best player the Wizards have on their roster so he’s not there to have a complementary role.
By better I assume we’re talking about who’s more skilled and who has more talent. If teams were drafting these two, Sarr would always go first because of his skill level and potential. Moussa is better at that role than Sarr would be but his role doesn’t require as much as Sarr’s does. There’s a reason why teams don’t select role players with top picks
Good thing I’m not talking about ranking potential or where would I draft those guys.
Diabaté has some drama with the French Team and might not get called for some time, regardless of his ability
Oh, what’s the drama?
In 2024, after playing 11 games in the NBA season, he refused to be part of the training camp for the Summer Olympics. He would have been one of the sparring partner for the players supposed to take part of the competition.
A year later, in August 2025, after an honest first full season with Charlotte (but before the even better 25⁄26 season), he was not taken in the first list for the EuroBasket after doing the preparation. Once another player was injured, he was called up and refused to come as he wanted to do the NBA season preparation with Charlotte.
It was the right decision for his NBA career, but the two events does give a sour taste for the France NT coaching staff. Contrary to the USA team (and even more and more there), other national teams do need players fully commited to the bit and willing to do their role however big or small they will be.
Ah, thanks for the summary. That’s certainly unfortunate, though I can understand both sides. Hopefully there’s enough time prior to the olympics to perhaps mend the past tensions.
No he isn’t. He is a better high motor role player so there might be lineups where that’s more useful…but he is not better than really either overall.
He is an undersized hustle guy, strong rebounder, strong switchable defender, but he offers nothing on offense.
Legit star potential with this guy, and has a lot of room to grow on both ends I hope he keeps going.
When you say star, what do you mean? Give a player comparison or something
Not the North Star or the sun bro, like a dense white dwarf star
Ahh a dense, white dwarf star…like a Danny DeVito build, I gotcha
Paul Gasol was a star to you?
Yeah I’d say Pau was a star, that’s some lofty comparison though lol
To be honest, playing alongside with Russ really speed up his growth
I was thinking the same thing, Westbrook always knows how to feed his bigs.
Ya he’s no harden or Chris Paul but he still is one of the better pgs at finding the center
French bigs and Canadian guards. They should join forces.
I believe it’s called Quebec
This guy has the best touch around the basket I’ve seen in a long time. He reminds me of a very tall Manu.
He learned all of that playing chess vs Wemby.
He looks a lot quicker and more athletic than I remember him being at Stanford. Really impressive improvement out of a rookie.
My fantasy starboy
I really hope this guy is a guy and better than Kyle guy. I know we’ve graduated from your class but I hope kings fans find hope.
Raynaud is bringing that hope and it’s awesome
How is his defense?
A work in progress. He is a little slow footed and will never be dominant on defense. But he is very smart (went to Henri IV high school in France and majored in math and IT in Stanford) and bulking up nicely. He should be average at worst.
Stanford Graduate….
> He should be average at worst.
That seems optimistic to me. He *may* get to that level but there’s no reason to assume. I finally watched him in person last week and right now he is unable to play defense whatsoever. Makes Sabonis look like a stopper.
Awful, but the way he moves on offense suggests he has the tools to be a competent defender, so it’s more of coaching/training issue.
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been wanting to watch him for a while but that would mean I would have to watch a Sacramento Kings game and I just can’t force myself to do that at this moment in my life
those finishes with either hand are nice also when he puts the ball to the floor and moves off the dribble it looks pretty good for his size. nice rolls also looks really promising
Better than Sabonis
Life’s been a whirlwind since November and I totally never heard of this guy. Guess I’m officially a casual now. 😭 Incredible soft touch for a 7-footer.
I know people on social media hate his archetype and they love to talk about what he isn’t good at as opposed to what he is good at. But if you put it in perspective of where he was picked and how he is playing, maxime raynaud is a good player for a 42 pick in the second round
Is it wrong to say that if he sharpens his footwork and bulks up a little more/gets stronger that he could emulate Embiid’s playstyle?
Embiid was an athletic freak that also is one of the best midrange scorers of all time, so highly unlikely.
Worse defender but better offense version of Zubac would what I imagine he gets to
Paul Gasol…
Not sure he’s flashed that passing potential but I don’t mind it
i cant wait to see how vivek fucks this up
nice, but we also deep in late March
Been having good games all year
He’s been climbing the rookie ladder since December after he started getting meaningful minutes due to Sabonis’ being out.