He didn't want to search for ” 10,000 photos » of his adventure with the Blues started in 2008. For his farewell message, Nando de Colo therefore preferred to ask his agent, Wassim Boutanos, also a photographer.
The idea was to collect all his medals from his parents – one in gold (Euro 2013), three in silver (2021 and 2024 Olympic Games, Euro 2011) and two in bronze (2019 World Cup, Euro 2015) – and to put in front of the lens. Alone, but also in the company of “ those that were the most important » in this epic, his wife and their three daughters.
Without really having concerted » with Vincent Collet and Nicolas Batum, who had announced their retirement a few days earlier, Nando de Colo, thus drew his reference with his characteristic sobriety. For BasketUSAthe Asvel player, who still averages around 10 points and 5 assists in the championship and Euroleague, looks back on his immense international career.
BasketUSA: After this announcement, what state of mind are you in? How does it feel to start the season again knowing that there won't be the Blues next summer?
Nando de Colo : The decision had to be made. I've had it in mind for a while. The goal of the Olympic Games in Paris was clearly important to me. After the Tokyo Games, I really needed to take a summer off to spend more time with my family and rest. Because the fact of chaining seasons and summers since 2018 takes a toll on the body.
You have to know the difference between what happens in the club and the French team. We cannot afford, during the year, to think about what will happen the following summer. We must first focus on our collective goals as a club. And once the season is over, that’s when you have to make the switch. And compared to next summer, knowing that there is no French team, it really allows you to cut between the two.
How did you experience these 2024 Games on a collective level?
Things went really well, really. We had a great group, who lived very well together, on and off the field. We were a little removed from all this Olympic atmosphere. It reminded me of the Tokyo Olympics where we were very together too, because there was Covid. We had ups and downs, a lot of luck against Japan. But we were able to reach this famous quarter-final where we know very well that a competition can go one way or the other. We were able to reverse this trend which was not necessarily to our advantage. I don't think we had any more doubt than that.
“The ones that weigh the most remain the Olympic medals”
What feeling after this defeat against the Americans?
Before collecting the medals, we were thinking about the match we had just had. There was no point in ruminating too much because we won't do the match again tomorrow. It was important to quickly move on to enjoy the moment. That's exactly what I told the guys. It was a good final, we weren't missing much. There are always things we could have done better. In any case, we had a very good journey.
What about your competition on a personal level?
I knew that my role was going to evolve, I had discussed it with the staff. I didn't think he was going to be so reduced in terms of playing time. That wasn't necessarily what I was told. But that wasn't my primary concern. I had to be in a role, be as communicative as possible with the staff, the players, and be sure that everyone was going in the same direction. I wasn't worried about the situation, the team was doing well. We were where we wanted. But I tried to stay ready because I knew that depending on the matchups, there might be a match where I would have more responsibilities.
In the final against “Team USA” therefore…
It was perhaps also a question of knowledge of these Americans. Over the last three or four years, we have played them a lot of times. I know that there are situations, with more reading of the game, which are easier for me. It's good if a match can allow you, like Guerschon (Yabusele), to bounce back from a goal that you were unable to achieve, the fact of being able to join an NBA team. I have never been in this situation, and today, I am less and less so. The silver medal is a great achievement, I had a very good summer and I am very proud of it.
Does silver at Paris 2024 shake up your “hierarchy” in terms of medals?
(Laughs) The ones that weigh the most remain the Olympic medals. When Evan (Fournier) put the Tokyo one around my neck, that's where you really feel the weight. But all medals have their story. The first is always the most important, the second, also golden. The one that is harder to digest is the bronze medal in 2015, because the objective was clearly to seek a new European title.
Wearing this blue jersey allowed me to evolve alongside other great French basketball players. At the beginning, we had the impression at times of using the French team as a springboard for the seasons to come. Over time, we were able to create a core around which we tried to strengthen the collective and be able to evolve as the Spaniards have been able to do for years. It was against them that we learned to become one of the best nations in the world.
But we don't realize how complicated it is, every summer, where we have to reset things and start moving forward. There are summers when we think it's going to be easy, because we achieved a result. I remember that 2011 final, where we immediately said to ourselves: 'Next year, the Olympics will be easy'. We may have said the same thing to ourselves in 2023. In the end, we don't see things coming, it's happening so quickly that we find ourselves eliminated before the competition has even started.
“Against Spain, in 2015, it was the most painful defeat even though we had the match in hand… The days that followed were very complicated”
Is this your most painful memory?
2015, the competition itself, we were where we were. But against Spain, it was the most painful defeat even though we had the match in hand. It was difficult, perhaps not at the time because we had to quickly move on to seek the bronze medal. But the days that followed were very complicated. 2016 was a real disaster, clearly. We were so happy to qualify for the Olympics but behind that, we have to get back on track. We weren't in it.
Starter, substitute, leader, fullback… In your farewell, you recalled having accepted different roles to put yourself “at the service” of the team. How did you experience it?
The first thing is that I never considered the French team as my team. It's our team, the staff and the selected players, I've always seen basketball that way. Obviously, I've had everything with it. In 2008 with Michel Gomez, I had a lot of responsibilities with a squad that was very different from what we are used to seeing.
Then in 2009, we started with the Vincent Collet era where my role changed. I try to adapt as much as possible. Sometimes I play a few minutes, sometimes more, I can be a leader and a fullback. The beginning wasn't easy, from 2009 to 2013, when we didn't know exactly what was expected of us and we spent weeks training asking ourselves: 'What is really my role in the world? 'team ?' I came off the bench, as the 6th man, at times further away. We like to say that, with Nico, we had the same career as a team in France. Except Nico knew exactly what his role was. So obviously, it’s perhaps easier to evolve at your best level. And from 2014, my role was more important because I also took on more importance in the club.
How can we explain this vagueness at the beginning?
It’s first of all communication between the staff and the players. In 2018, I was able to speak with Vincent Collet about my experience, but also in relation to other players, because I was not the only one in this situation. It's something we have to be careful about: maintaining communication, knowing why we're taking this player and another… We're able to move forward when things are clear.
How did your relationship with Vincent Collet evolve?
At the beginning, there was not this relationship that I can have with certain coaches that I have worked with. But she has evolved. In 2018, we took the time to discuss (editor's note: on the initiative of the player) which allowed us to talk a lot more (later). We were reaching the end of a generation. We no longer had a Boris Diaw, a Tony Parker, a Flo Piétrus, a Mike Gelabale. We had to adapt to this new generation that was arriving. And for my part, with all the experience acquired, I wanted to see what could be improved.
“Evan (Fournier) reacts very quickly in emotions, whereas I will be more calm at the beginning, let people see how the situation goes, and have all the keys in hand to be able to say what needs to be said”
What about your role in the locker room, an aspect that little is talked about about you?
I may not have done it in front of the camera, but I was always someone who liked to communicate with my teammates. I liked discussing game situations, first with my teammates, then, as the years go by, you realize that being able to communicate with the staff can allow you to evolve in your game. This is something I learned a lot when I arrived in Moscow.
When things are going well, you have to know how to express it. When they don't work out, you have to be there to give a little rant. I'm not saying you have to open it all the time, because after a while, no one listens anymore. You have to know how to choose the right times to speak.
A Nando from Colo giving a rant, what does that look like?
(Laughs) I'm more of a cool person. Maybe that's also why I get on well with my wife and her Spanish side, with the hot blood that starts like clockwork. That's why over the years, Evan and I got along pretty well. Likewise, he reacts very quickly in emotions, whereas I will be more calm at the beginning, let him see how the situation goes, and have all the keys in hand to be able to say what needs to be said.
What memories do you have of your first selection against Israel in July 2008? Have the 15 years that followed been beyond your dreams?
I remember more the first “official” match against Belgium (editor’s note: qualifications for Euro 2009, it had signed 28 points at 9/9 on shots !). I played my match without worrying about what could happen. I was very successful that evening, I don't even know if the idea of the result was very important. It was so incredible to be able to start a competition with the Blues.
We don't imagine winning medals at that time. Before us, the French team had won two in eight years. It was the qualifying tournament for the Euro, which shows how bad we were. It took a while for the first medal to arrive. Maybe that's what's needed to structure things. Could we have done better? Of course, yes, but it remains a very beautiful course and I am proud of it. This summer, I received a message from Luigi Datome who congratulated me and said: 'If you could give me a medal to hang in my living room'. Because they don't have any.
Can you already imagine joining the Blues staff in the future?
We are still far from it, but I am not closing the door to any proposal, whatever the level, the category… I have basketball camps, my daughter plays in U13, another in U7. Whenever I have time, I like to help existing coaches and share my experience with them. My way of seeing basketball could be useful one day. In the meantime, my career is not over. What happens next will depend on the body, the mind, the opportunities. I signed with Asvel until June 2026. But that doesn't mean that after two years I stop, or that I continue…
Photo credit: Wassim Boutanos
