Superb by a factor of three After a historic 2022, capped by her MVP performance in the Crelan FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2022, Laetitia Guapo was crowned France’s greatest basketball player of the year.
The French Basketball Federation established the Alain-Gilles award in 2015, and the 26-year-old became just the second woman to win it. The public, five media representatives, and six representatives from basketball institutes vote on the winners, giving more weight to results from international tournaments and club performances.
Guapo, who followed in Nicolas Batum’s footsteps as award winner after the Los Angeles Clippers basketball player and silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics won the title, deserved it after leading France to a historic double in the World Cup 2022 and the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup 2022.
France won their first world championship in Antwerp, and the team’s scoring leader was a 6ft (1.82m) untiring slasher who scored five points in the championship game versus Canada.
France defeated the Netherlands in the final of the Europe Cup, and Guapo scored 35 points to place second in scoring.
The world’s fourth-best player was also a standout in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series 2022, where she ranked third in scoring (with 136 points) and helped France finish in second place.
She also had a phenomenal year on the court with the French powerhouse basketball team Tango Bourges Basket, helping them win many trophies, including the FIBA EuroCup Women 2021-22.
