Hugo Besson (born 26 April 2001) is a French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for FMP Meridian of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...

(KLS) and the Adriatic League. He debuted in the LNB Pro A in 2018 with Élan Chalon. After two seasons with Chalon, he was loaned to Saint-Quentin BB of the LNB Pro B and led the league in scoring in the 2020–21 season. After a season with the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

in the Australian NBL, he was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 58th overall pick in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

Early life and career

Besson was born in

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

, France. He grew up in the Côte d'Azur town of

Bandol Bandol (; oc, Bandòu) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The Bandol wine region, lo ...

. He started his youth basketball career in 2016 as a member of the

Antibes Sharks Olympique Antibes, in full ''Olympique d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins'' and branded as Antibes Sharks, is a basketball club from the city of Antibes, France. Established in 1933, the club's men's senior team currently plays in LNB Pro B, the French secon ...

. He averaged 5.1 points in 15 games with the Under 21 team during the 2016–17 season. He joined Élan Chalon in 2017 and played for the Under 21 team. In 27 games during the 2017–18 season, he averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

Professional career

Élan Chalon (2018–2021)

Between 2018 and 2020, Besson was a member of the Élan Chalon senior squad. He played 14 games in the LNB Pro A over two seasons. In the ProA U21 competition, he averaged 18.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.1 steals in 28 games during the 2018–19 season, and 26.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in six games during the 2019–20 season. In June 2020, Besson signed a three-year contract with Élan Chalon and was subsequently loaned to Saint-Quentin BB of the LNB Pro B. He led the league in scoring during the 2020–21 season with 19.5 points per game. He also averaged 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 steals in 26 games. He was nominated for league MVP and earned all-star five and best youngster. His No. 25 jersey was later retired by Saint-Quentin BB.

2021 off-season

Besson was courted by several European clubs during 2021, including Baskonia and

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, ...

, and was in the running for the NBA draft. He withdrew his name from the draft after being unable to participate in work-outs due to an ankle injury. In August 2021, he was ranked by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

as the 35th top prospect for the

New Zealand Breakers (2021–2022)

On 23 September 2021, Besson signed with the

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2021–22 season. In his debut for the Breakers on 4 December, he scored 10 points in an 89–65 season-opening loss to the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...

. He scored 20 or more points in each of the next three games. He had two 20-point games in March 2022. Besson left the Breakers on 17 April 2022 in order to prepare for the NBA draft. In 25 games, he averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

NBA draft and Summer League

Besson was selected with the 58th overall pick in the

by the Indiana Pacers. His draft rights were then immediately traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. He joined the Bucks for the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campu ...

Metropolitans 92 (2022–2023)

On 13 August 2022, Besson signed with

Metropolitans 92 Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

of the LNB Pro A. He was sidelined between 9 January and 16 May with a hip injury. His minutes decreased after returning from injury, as he helped the team reach the Pro A finals, where they lost 3–0 to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Besson played just five minutes from the bench in the game three defeat. In 25 games, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Besson re-joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the

2023 NBA Summer League The 2023 NBA Summer League (branded as ''NBA 2K, NBA 2K24'' Summer League 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las ...

FMP Meridian (2023–present)

On 30 September 2023, Besson signed a two-year deal with FMP Meridian of the

and the Adriatic League.

National team career

In June 2021, Besson was called up to the French Under 20 national team ahead of the FIBA U20 European Challengers. He ultimately did not play with the final team.

Personal life

Besson's father, uncle, and grandfather have all played and coached professional basketball. He has a sister named Jade.

References

External links

ABA League profile2023 LNB profileNew Zealand Breakers profile2022 NBA Draft profile2021 NBA Draft profileNBADraft.net profileFIBA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besson, Hugo 2001 births Living people French expatriate basketball people in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand French men's basketball players Indiana Pacers draft picks Metropolitans 92 players New Zealand Breakers players Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Angers