Hugo Besson joined the NZ Breakers with plans to enter the 2022 NBA Draft. Photo / Getty Images
Hugo Besson joined the NZ Breakers with plans to enter the 2022 NBA Draft. Photo / Getty Images
Hugo Besson is playing for the present.
The 20-year-old Frenchman has a bright future on the hardwood of the world's basketball courts and will likely hear his name called out at some point in this year's NBA Draft in June.
But while it's every young basketball player's dream to makeit to the NBA, that's something for 'future Hugo' to worry about.
After spending last season playing in Europe, Besson made the decision to travel and join the New Zealand Breakers' 2021-22 campaign in the NBL. It was a fit that felt right for the young shooting guard, both with club owner Matt Walsh and head coach Dan Shamir, calling Shamir "the right coach at the right moment."
That fit has shown on the court, with Besson being one of few bright spots in an otherwise bleak start for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL this season - averaging 16 points per game.
Through six games in the NBL season, Besson's play has seen his draft stock rise. Joining the Breakers as a projected early second-round draft pick, the latest ESPN mock draft has seen him jump into the top 30 on their board.
"I'm not too focused on it," Besson says of the draft later this year. "I'm not looking at mock drafts every few days, I'm just focused on my season and we'll see what happens at the end of it."
As he thought it would be, Besson's relationship with the Breakers has been a perfect fit. Following the departure of several players at the end of last season and unavailability due to injury or Covid-19, Shamir has come to rely on Besson to be able to carry a heavy load – both in terms of time on the court and scoring.
A sharpshooter from behind the three-point arc, Besson has shown aggression in his game as well and doesn't hesitate in putting his head down and driving towards the basket, though he admits he wouldn't mind getting a few more foul calls when he draws contact in doing so.
Hugo Besson has been an important part of the Breakers' game plan early in the NBL season. Photo / Getty Images
"Obviously, I always want the foul," he laughs.
"Even last year, I didn't get that many calls. When I don't get calls I'm getting a bit mad, but that's part of the game. I've got to adapt and see what I can do better to get the calls. Even if I had more calls, I would want more."
Having already played at the professional level in Europe, Besson has not had the same issues with the physicality of the league as some young players do when they come to the NBL, and has been able to make his presence felt from the outset.
That's not to say the transition hasn't been a tough one, but Besson is all about adapting to his situations.
"It's pretty different from Europe. It's so far from where I come from, so I had to really adapt to how it works; getting used to a foreign language, to be away from home and family. It was pretty tough the first couple of weeks, but now I feel comfortable.
"Some guys have really big accents, so at the beginning it was really hard to understand. Last year I was not speaking that much English – I've never really spoken English much in my life, so I had to adapt and that's what I did.
"I'm used to playing against adults and more physical guys, but it's still way different from Europe in how the game is played, but that's really great experience as a player."
While he has made an impressive start individually, the Breakers are yet to get off the mark. They have come close several times, but the results are yet to come – and that hasn't been helped by players being unavailable.
Their next opportunity comes today against the Brisbane Bullets, with the team eager to return to the floor after a scheduled game last weekend was changed due to Covid-19 and they were left without a fixture.
With plenty of the season still to come, there remains time for the Breakers to turn things around. Besson says he's just looking to do his part for the team, which in turn will help to develop his game as the draft approaches.
