Batum: Never selected for the All-Star career, the total salary is over 180 million. His wife is his strongest substitute

He is one of the legendary legends of the French team. He helped France win the European championship and was elected MVP at the age of 16, and led the team to the Olympic runner-up twice. In addition to the European arena, he also performed well in the NBA and has played a comprehensive data of double-double many times. Although he has never been selected into the All-Star lineup, he was rated as "the most underrated player in the league. It can be seen how high the media has evaluated him. He is the protagonist of this issue, Nicholas Batum, known as the "French Magician".

The father is the biggest motivation for embarking on the road to basketball

On December 14, 1988, Batum was born in a small town called Lisey in France. Batum's father is Richard Batum, who is an African black man. He is also a professional basketball player. Batum's mother is called Sylvi, and she is a hospital staff member.

When he was a child, Batum lived a very happy life. His father would often take him to football fields and basketball courts to watch football, while his mother was responsible for taking care of his health and studies. However, an accident became an eternal pain in Batum's heart. One day in 1991, Batum went to watch his father's game with his mother as usual, but Batum's father suddenly fainted during a retreat and fell heavily on the floor. Seeing this terrible scene, Batum was instantly frightened and hugged his mother tightly for comfort, but after waiting in the rescue room for a long time, he got his father's aneurysm. The bad news of the breaking and death made Batum, who was only two years old, feel deeply afraid of basketball.

"It was a terrible memory. I only remember that my father was fouled and then fell back on the way back to the free throw line. Although I was only 2 years old at the time, I will always remember it." This is the memory written by Batum about his father's death.

Because of inheriting his father's excellent athletic genes, Batum's height quickly surpassed that of children of the same age and his athletic ability was also excellent. At the age of 14, Batum entered the French National Sports Academy, which is known as the "cradle of genius" in France.

The training in the sports academy was very difficult, and he trained 6 hours a day. Practice and also take into account the learning of cultural courses. Batum quickly became averse to learning, but fortunately Batum gritted his teeth and persevered.

In 2004, the 16-year-old Batum represented France in the U16 European Championship and led the team to win the championship. Batum was also praised by the French media as the "Star of the Future of Europe" by the French media for averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds.

At the age of 17, Batum participated in the Ligue 1 League and helped the team win the French Cup championship in an upset, becoming one of the youngest players in the history of the Ligue 1 League.

After participating in several international competitions, Batum finally decided to participate in the NBA draft in 2008.

A comprehensive "pigment oil" player

Due to the excellent performance at the Nike Basketball Summit, Batum's draft market was very good. He entered the lottery zone for a time, but during the physical test, Batum did not pass the cardiac stress test. Considering Batum's father's past experience, the teams quickly stopped Batum's physical test.

Fortunately, after the doctor's evaluation, he believed that Batum could play NBA intensity games, so Batum entered the NBA draft without any danger. However, Batum also fell sharply due to this incident and was finally selected by the Rockets at the 25th pick, and was then traded to the Trail Blazers.

On July 23, 2008, the Trail Blazers and Batum officially signed and gave him a 4-year 730 10,000 rookie contract.

That year, it was the peak season of the Trail Blazers core Roy. Oden, the team's inside pillar, just returned from injury. Coupled with a group of good role players, the overall strength of the Trail Blazers is quite strong. The addition of the new player Batum effectively supplemented the bench lineup of the Youth Guards, and the Trail Blazers became one of the strong contenders of the championship.

2009-10 seasons, Batum's playing time and scoring data increased significantly, and his comprehensive skills began to appear. Without Oden, Batum became the most powerful helper around Roy. In that season, the Trail Blazers made the playoffs again, but Roy's injury made the team In the first round of the playoffs.

Coming to the new season, Roy, who had just played 4 games, was injured again. With the team's future in danger, Batum stood up and became the team's outside core. On the offensive end, he can attack and pass, and on the defensive end, Batum can also use his long arms to effectively assist and repair defense. Throughout the season, Batum started 67 games, and averaged 12.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, becoming the future star that Portland fans are looking forward to.

While career is smooth, Batum also completed his major events in his life and married a virtuous wife. After marriage, Batum's wife remained low-key and focused all her energy on Batum M and two children.

In 2012, Batum, whose rookie contract expired, was robbed by the free market, among which the conditions offered by the Timberwolves were the most attractive, but the Trail Blazers matched the offer without hesitation. In the end, Batum continued to stay with the Trail Blazers with a contract of 4 years and $46.12 million.

In the same year, the Trail Blazers draft got Lillard, who was famous for its explosive scores, and Batum chose to delegate power and concentrate on assisting Lillard. After no scoring pressure, Batum played more freely. In the game against the Hornets in December 2012, Batum scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to get 5×5 data. This season, Batum delivered a comprehensive data average of 13 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. It was the most outstanding season in his entire career and the year closest to the All-Star. However, under the pressure of Durant, Leonard and George, Batum missed the selection.

In the next three seasons, Batum's role in the team has become increasingly prominent. Although Lillard can score 40+ or ​​even 50+ data, Batum's omnipotence is the key to the team's victory.

In 2015, the Hornets reached a deal with the Trail Blazers, and Batum joined the Hornets. In the Hornets' first season, Batum still performed the "French Magician". The double-double was ruthless, and the triple-double was also common. He even won the Player of the Month. However, after the Hornets gave Batum a maximum salary of $120 million in five years, all this changed.

In the first two seasons, Batum still performed at the level of quasi-All-stars, averaging 15 points, 5.8 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 1 steal. If Batum is placed in the East, there is definitely a chance to become an All-Star, but after the third season, Batum's performance began to decline sharply.

In the 2017-18 season, Batum averaged only 11.6 points per game, but in the 2019-20 season, Batum's average score was only a pitiful 3.6 points per game. This cliff-like decline made Hornet fans hate it, and the management was furious, believing that Batum was not working hard. So in November 2020, the Hornets chose to directly quit Batum to free up space for strengthening.

Although Batum's performance in the Hornets' last season was disappointing, his game experience was what the team needed for the championship. In December 2020, the Clippers offered Batum a two-year salary of $12 million, hoping that veteran Batum can help young people in the game. Although Batum is still in the regular season, in the playoffs, Batum does not disappoint, especially in the 2021 playoffs, Batum made many key three-pointers to help the Clippers get the lead, and became the most stable three-pointer pitcher for the Clippers with a three-point shooting percentage of 40.4%.

Although Batum has become a marginal player in the NBA, Batum is still the decisive force for the French team in international competitions. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the French team and the American team met in the finals. The experienced Batum used his own experience to manage the French team's offense in an orderly manner, but this made the American team suffer a lot. If Curry had not recorded four unreasonable three-pointers in a row, it would be hard to say who would have won the championship in the end.

Wife is the strongest substitute

Batum and his wife live a very low-key life after marriage, but this does not affect their love. Batum once said in an interview: "Aurely (Batum's wife) supported my decision very much before we got married, especially during this transition period from France to the United States, which gave me great support." In addition to supporting himself in action, Aureli also often acts as Batum's mouth substitute. In October 2023, Batum was ruthlessly traded by the Clippers. Aurely soon posted an article about Holiday's wife shooting the Bucks before, and a picture was included: "No one believes it", expressing her dissatisfaction with the Clippers. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Aurely wrote on Twitter: "Batum has decided to end his career after the Olympics, so the new season will be his last season with the Clippers." Although this was not what Batum said in person, Batum, who is now 37 years old, does not have much oil in the fuel tank, and ending his career early and returning to his family will be a good choice.

Conclusion

Batum is a typical champion puzzle player. Although he was trained as the core of the team in his early years, his playing style is destined to be a senior "blue-collar" player who serves the team. Just like Iguodala back then, if he was in the right team, I believe Batum will definitely achieve more dazzling results.