Nicolas Batum

French basketball player (born 1988)

Nicolas Batum ('/n//iː//k//oʊ//l//ə// //b//ə/'/t//uː//m/ NEEkohlə bəTOOM; born 14 December 1988) is a French professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. He is also a member of the French national team and earned a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

His father, Richard, of Cameroonian origin, was a professional basketball player in France. Richard died during a game in 1991 after suffering an aneurysm. Nicolas, at only 2 1/2 years old, and his mother were in the crowd to witness Richard’s death.

Batum delivered an impressive performance at the 2007 Nike Hoop Summit scoring 23 points (9/13 FG, 3/5 for 3 pointers) in 28 minutes. He also grabbed four rebounds and recorded four steals. As a youngster, Nicolas Batum was considered one of the most talented young players in Europe, as he was ranked #17 among international players born in 1988, by the scouting website DraftExpress. com at the time he entered the 2008 NBA draft.

Batum was part of the junior French national team that won the 2004 FIBA Europe Under 16 Championship. and 12.3 points (52.3%), 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 28 minutes for the 2007–2008 season.

Upon being selected with the 25th pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, Batum was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for the rights to Darrell Arthur and Joey Dorsey. After coming off the bench for the first three games of his NBA career, Batum moved into the starting lineup in place of Travis Outlaw in Portland's fourth game of the 2008–09 season, a 103–96 loss to the Utah Jazz. On March 13, 2009, Batum recorded a season high 20 points to go along with a clutch three pointer with 29.9 seconds left, en route to a 109–100 victory over the New Jersey Nets. Batum missed the first 45 games of the 2009–10 season due to torn cartilage in his right shoulder. He played in his first game of the season on January 25, 2010. Batum scored more than 30 points for the first time with a 31 point performance (including 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals) on February 27, 2010 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In August 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, he signed a one year contract with SLUC Nancy in French Basketball League which was valid until the NBA lockout ended.

Batum returned to Portland after the lockout ended. On June 25, 2012, the Portland Trail Blazers extended a qualifying offer to Batum, making him a restricted free agent. Less than three weeks later Batum signed a $46 million/4 year offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves. On July 18, 2012, the Trail Blazers elected to match the Timberwolves' offer, signing Batum to the team through the 2015–16 campaign. On November 16, 2012, Batum tied a career high of 35 points in a 119–117 overtime win against the Houston Rockets. This was followed exactly one month later by a game in which Batum recorded the 15th "five by five" in the NBA since the 1985–86 season, and the first since Andrei Kirilenko in January 2006. In this effort Batum scored 11 points while racking up 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 steals in a 95–94 win against the New Orleans Hornets. Batum had a career year in 2012–13, as he finished with career highs in nearly every statistic. His biggest improvement was his passing; he averaged 4.9 assists, more than triple his previous career high (1.5 assists per game during the 2010–11 season).

On June 24, 2015, Batum was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Gerald Henderson, Jr. and Noah Vonleh. On August 1, 2015, Batum played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game. He made his debut for the Hornets in the team's season opener against the Miami Heat on October 28, recording 9 points and 6 rebounds in a 104–94 loss. On November 15, he scored a season high 33 points in a 106–94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The following day, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, November 9 through Sunday, November 15. It was the first career Player of the Week award for Batum, who led the Hornets to a 3–1 record on the week. On December 9, he recorded his fifth career triple double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 99–81 win over the Miami Heat. In early January, he missed four games with a right toe injury. Later that month, he missed three more games with the same injury. On March 29, he recorded his second triple double of the season with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 100–85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On July 7, 2016, Batum re signed with the Hornets on a five year, $120 million contract. On December 23, 2016, he recorded his first triple double of the season with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 103–91 win over the Chicago Bulls. On October 5, 2017, Batum was ruled out for six to eight weeks with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Batum made his season debut on November 15, 2017, scoring 16 points in 32 minutes as a starter in a 115–107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. A week later, Batum left the Hornets' game against the Washington Wizards in the second quarter with a left elbow contusion and did not return. On January 31, 2018, he had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 123–110 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On March 10, 2018, he recorded 29 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a 122–115 win over the Phoenix Suns. Five days later, he recorded a career high 16 assists to go with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 129–117 win over the Hawks. On October 24, 2019, Batum was sidelined for two to three weeks due to an avulsion fracture on the third finger of his left hand. Batum was waived by the Hornets November 29, 2020.

On December 1, 2020, after clearing waivers, Batum signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. On August 13, 2021, Batum re signed with the Clippers. On July 6, 2022, Batum re signed with the Clippers on a two year deal.

On 1 November 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Batum, Marcus Morris Sr., Kenyon Martin Jr. and Robert Covington from the Clippers in exchange for James Harden, P. J. Tucker, and Filip Petrušev. As part of the trade, the Clippers dealt a first round pick, two second round picks, a pick swap, and cash considerations to the 76ers, while sending a pick swap and cash considerations to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lanky and agile, Batum is regarded as a highly skilled defensive player and one of the NBA's best executors of the chase down block. Growing up in Pont l'Évêque, Normandy, the lanky Batum was among the tallest boys of his age group and began his basketball career as a center.

Batum played for the senior men's French national basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Late in a 66–59 quarterfinal loss to Spain, a frustrated Batum punched Spanish player Juan Carlos Navarro in the groin. After the game, Batum said, "I wanted to give him a good reason to flop." Batum later apologized on Twitter, writing, "I showed a bad image of France and myself. and the city of Portland Oregon. Congrats to team Spain."

Batum was a member of the French national team that finished third place in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, becoming the first French team to win a medal in a FIBA Basketball World Cup competition. In the final two games he averaged 31.0 points and was subsequently named to the all tournament team.

Batum blocked Klemen Prepelič at the last second of the 2020 Olympics semi final giving victory to France. France eventually lost the final 87–82 to the United States. Rudy Gobert stated that Batum's game saving play was one of the best blocks he had ever seen. His block was ranked as one of the unforgettable moments of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In March 2017, Batum became a shareholder in Infinity Nine Sports, the company owned by Tony Parker, which runs French basketball club ASVEL Basket, and took over the position as director of basketball operations at ASVEL.