“ With the eleventh pick of the 1997 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select Olivier Saint-Jean from San Jose State University “. It has already been twenty-seven years since the late David Stern uttered this sentence, announcing the arrival of a first French basketball player in the most prestigious championship in the world. Although his career has had more downs than ups, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, born November 3, 1974, will forever remain the one who opened the breach and put an end to half a century of waiting for our country.
Originally from Maisons-Alfort where he was born under the surname of Olivier Saint-Jean, “TAW” followed his training across the Atlantic in the NCAA, which was then still very rare for young French talents. Junior European champion with the French team in 1992, he immediately joined the prestigious University of Michigan at the age of nineteen. Within a very talented squad (Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, etc.), he has little opportunity to express himself on the field. After two years with the Wolverines, he decided to change college and head west, towards San Jose State, a much less prestigious university but where he enjoyed a lot of freedom and playing time.
He had a blast with the Spartans, averaging 17 points during his junior year and especially 23.8 points and 8.8 rebounds during his senior year, which made him one of the best outside players. more followed by his promotion.
Expected in the second round, he made a very strong impression during the training camps before the Draft and saw his rating skyrocket to finally be retained by the Kings in eleventh position.
His role is already clearly defined: learn the trade alongside Mitch Richmond, then take the starting place when the latter retires. His debut was slightly delayed due to injury but on November 11, 1997 in Miami, Tariq Abdul-Wahad became the first Frenchman to set foot on an NBA floor. He scored a basket in just ten minutes of play. His impact remained quite weak until March when he appeared in the starting five.
He had his moment of glory in the last game of the season, against Vancouver, with a peak of 31 points, his career record. But what he remembers from this first season is his first match against Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan asks to see him on the field
“It was my rookie year, so in 1997-1998. Chicago arrives in Sacramento, Eddie Jordan announces before the game that everyone is going to play. I don't know if you realize the scene. The guy knows how historically important the moment is. Everyone will return to the field. Earn ? Guys, we're not going to win today anyway. So everyone is going to play. Eddie Jordan knew very well that we were going to face a historic team. Because playing against Michael Jordan, against Scottie Pippen, against Ron Harper, against a team that will lose between 9 and 15 games in the year, it's something that you have to experience.
Oscillating between positions 2 and 3, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, then a rookie, knew that he would have to compete against the most dominant player of his era. And what was supposed to happen happened…
“So the match starts… and Jordan, the guy himself, during the match, says to the coach: 'Bring in the Frenchman, the little Frenchman there' (laughs). 'Get the Frenchy in!'. He's the one who says who has to play on the opposing team! If that's not boss moves, I don't know what a boss is.” he says. “It’s a movie script thing… So I go on the field, and of course I defend on Jordan. He makes a little movement at me, toc-tac, I didn't understand anything. The second time, I say to myself: 'It's a little fadeaway, I've been watching it on TV for 5-6 years'. Even if we're a fan, we know which way it's going to go, what's going to happen. So I say to myself, instead of trying to counter him with the right hand, because I know that he starts from the baseline on the fadeaway and that he will turn towards the left shoulder, I will go there with the left hand to have a chance to counter him. He does his fadeaway, I go with my left hand, I touch the ball with my left hand, with the tip of my finger. I just countered Michael Jordan's fadeaway. It literally shoots into my hand, I box out, and I yell “Shorts!” » because you know his shot is going to be short, so to tell the guys to go for the rebound. And there, the ball goes straight into the circle. And I see him walking backwards with his shoulders and his small head compared to his body. He looks at you like he's like, 'What did you think? That it's your finger that will touch the ball that will change the trajectory of my shot…'
That evening, Michael Jordan had scored 33 points, and on the rare images, we actually see Tariq Abdul-Wahad take a first fadeaway on the head before being on the verge of making an interception, to finally concede another basket in front MJ at the end of possession.
At ease with Doc Rivers
The lockout reduced Abdul-Wahad's sophomore campaign to fifty games. Having become a starter following the transfer from Richmond to Washington, he continued his progress and had a very good season. His defensive qualities are particularly praised by the entire NBA, in France, we discovered his enormous athletic potential during Euro 1999. His story with the Blues was cut short with the sad story of “high socks”, and he would not go at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. But no one has forgotten the incredible show of the first round in Toulouse produced by TAW, Mous Sonko and Alain Digbeu.
Back in the NBA, and we have the right to think that he will settle down permanently in the Kings' rotation. Except that they sent him to Orlando during the offseason in exchange for Nick Anderson. This new start ultimately turns out to be very positive for the Frenchman. Doc Rivers, Orlando's new coach, praises his tenacity and aggressiveness in defense, and gives him significant playing time, which Abdul-Wahad takes advantage of. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds but learned on February 1, 2000 that he was being sent to Denver to everyone's surprise. He only needed four games to become the starter at fullback for the Nuggets before seeing his season end prematurely at the beginning of March following a wrist injury.
At the end of the contract, Abdul-Wahad received a golden bridge, for the time, from the Colorado franchise: around thirty-five million dollars over seven years. He becomes the highest paid French athlete in the world, far ahead of all the football stars, even though they are world champions. Unfortunately for him, this contract marks the beginning of the end of his adventure in the NBA. In 2000-01, he only played twenty-nine matches following various injuries, particularly his knee. Returning for the start of the following season, he injured his knee again after only twenty-four matches even though he had regained his starting place. Back in February, he was sent to Dallas where he only played four games at the end of the season.
Mark Cuban's nightmare
Again on the sidelines with recurring knee problems, the 2002-03 season only began for him in March. Tariq Abdul-Wahad plays the last fourteen games of the season, then eight games in the playoffs. We will never see him again on an official match floor in the United States. Unwanted in Dallas, he played twice during the preseason in October 2003 but was no longer part of the regular season roster. He then enters into conflict with the Texan franchise who consider him unfit to continue his career and who therefore hope to have the remaining four years on his contract invalidated. On the contrary, he considers that he can resume competition. In the end, Abdul-Wahad remained on the Mavericks roster and payroll, earning tens of millions of dollars without playing.
On February 21, 2005, “TAW” posted a message on the front page of its official website. “That’s it. I decided it. From now on, I reposition my image. Bows at every turn, interviews with all the journalists who want them without limitation of time, duration and questions, pump polish en masse, blessings to all those who only wish me well. offering the worst hypocrisy. Yes, I tell you: in 2005, I am a different man. Finally, for those who are naive enough to believe me…” he writes. “It's the only way I can apologize for telling the truth.” For having been upright and honest with my conscience. The proof: I have been back with the Mavericks for a month. I rejoined the group sessions at the request of the club but not by my will. For what future? I don't know yet. But it must be believed that reality is already very hard to bear for those who wanted and thought they had my retirement ticket from the public prosecutor's office. »
Without a club at the end of his contract in 2006, he never deigned to respond to requests from European clubs who wanted to hire him and even decided to completely cut himself off from the microcosm of professional basketball.
He returned to live in San Jose where he earned his degree in Art History in 2008. Basketball isn't really far away, as he manages the Lincoln High School team after a stint at Cal State. Monterrey Bay in the NCAA second division where he was assistant coach of the women's team.
| Tariq Abdul-Wahad | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 1997-98 | BAG | 59 | 16 | 40.3 | 21.1 | 67.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| 1998-99 | BAG | 49 | 25 | 43.5 | 28.6 | 69.1 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
| 1999-00 * | All Teams | 61 | 26 | 42.4 | 13.0 | 75.6 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 11.4 |
| 1999-00 * | ENT | 46 | 26 | 43.3 | 9.5 | 76.2 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 12.2 |
| 1999-00 * | DEN | 15 | 25 | 38.9 | 50.0 | 73.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 8.9 |
| 2000-01 | DEN | 29 | 15 | 38.7 | 40.0 | 58.3 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 3.8 |
| 2001-02 * | All Teams | 24 | 18 | 37.4 | 50.0 | 72.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 5.6 |
| 2001-02 * | DEN | 20 | 21 | 37.9 | 50.0 | 75.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 6.8 |
| 2001-02 * | DAL | 4 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| 2002-03 | DAL | 14 | 15 | 46.6 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.1 |
| Total | 236 | 20 | 41.7 | 23.7 | 70.3 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 7.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
