A standout performer with Les Bleus, Olympic runners-up this summer in Paris, and noted for a spectacular dunk on LeBron James, “the dancing beara dominant force in Europe in recent seasons, is finding his feet with the struggling 76ers. Victorious just once, the Sixers have already lost 6 times and were again beaten in Los Angeles by the Clippers on Wednesday night (110-98), with just 4 points from Yabusele in 10 minutes of play.

How is your start to the season going?
“It’s a bit complicated because we’ve only won one game, we’ve had a lot of losses, like against Phoenix on the last action (Monday). But we’re in a good mood, we know there’s a long season ahead, we know there’ll be a lot of games, so we’re trying to stay positive and keep working. Personally, I was able to get several minutes on the pitch. In general, I feel very much a part of the team. There are some really good team-mates, and they try to make me feel confident and find me in certain situations. I try to make as few mistakes as possible, to give my best so that I can continue to learn. I’ve had to get used to it again, because it goes so much faster than in Europe. It’s also very athletic, so you really have to be ready, and you also need to have good cardio. What’s more, I play 5 (in the pivot position, ed. note), so it’s in a rather different role to what I usually play, so I have to make more of an effort.”

You have to compensate for the absence of pivot Joel Embiid (injured then suspended 3 games for shoving a journalist)…
“Yes, exactly, so I’m here to help out a bit. Normally, my position can be more post 4 (strong winger). Whatever the position, I have to try to give my best and make as few mistakes as possible. On defense, I have to deal with big inside players, and big inside players too, so I have to try to adapt.”

How is your collaboration going with All-Star winger Paul George, who joined Philadelphia this summer?
“I’m finding solutions with him. He only started this week, but he’s already making a lot of things easier. His intelligence in the game is really quite high. He tries to make the right +play+ every time, to put in the right pass, to shoot if he has to. He makes a lot of things easier on the pitch, both offensively and defensively.”