Sylvain Francisco

Sylvain Francisco
Francisco with Žalgiris Kaunas in 2025
No. 3 – Panathinaikos
PositionPoint guard
LeagueGreek Basketball League
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1997-10-10) 10 October 1997
Créteil, France
Listed height6 ft 1.25 in (1.86 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Metropolitans 92
2018–2020Paris Basketball
2020–2021Chorale Roanne
2021–2022Baxi Manresa
2022–2023Peristeri
2023–2024FC Bayern Munich
2024–2026Žalgiris Kaunas
2026–presentPanathinaikos
Career highlights

Sylvain Francisco (born 10 October 1997) is a French-American professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the French national team in international competition. Francisco holds both French and American citizenship.[1][2]

Early life and career

Sylvain Francisco is of Angolan ethnicity, as his parents are from Angola. They left the country and moved to France, due to the country's civil war. Francisco, who was born in Créteil, France, grew up in the Paris area, along with eight siblings. He played youth club basketball with Paris Basket Racing, Villemomble Sports, and AL Roche-la-Molière.

He then pursued his secondary education in Florida, in the USA, in 2014. He played high school basketball at the Elev8 Sports Institute, in Delray Beach, during the 2014–15 season. He also played high school basketball with Liberty Christian Preparatory School, in Tavares, during the 2015–16 season, and at West Oaks Academy, in Orlando, during the 2016–17 season. After high school, Francisco got some offers to play college basketball from some NCAA Division I programs, but he opted instead to return to France to play professionally.

Professional career

Francisco began his pro club career with Levallois Metropolitans in the French men's basketball first division. At the end of the 2017–2018 season, he signed his first professional contract with the Levallois club. However, wanting to join the G-League and eventually the NBA, he did not show up to the club's training the following summer.[3] He finally signed with Paris Basketball in the LNB Pro B in December 2018.[4] After two seasons with Paris Basketball, he returned to the French first division by signing with the Chorale Roanne for the 2020–2021 season.[5]

Baxi Manresa (2021–2022)

Francisco left Roanne in June 2021,[6] and signed with the Spanish club Baxi Manresa in Liga Endesa, in August 2021.[7] In the summer of 2022, he participated in the NBA Summer League with the Milwaukee Bucks.[8]

Peristeri (2022–2023)

For the 2022–2023 season, Francisco signed with Peristeri of the Greek Basket League.[9] In 31 Greek national domestic league games, he averaged 12.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.7 turnovers, playing around 28 minutes per contest. He also averaged 16.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, in 9 games played in the European-wide secondary level FIBA Champions League's 2022–2023 season. On 29 June 2023, he parted ways with the Greek club.

FC Bayern Munich (2023–2024)

On 20 July 2023, he signed with FC Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and EuroLeague.[10] On 18 February 2024, he won the BBL-Pokal with Bayern following a win in the final over Ratiopharm Ulm. Francisco was named the Final Four MVP.[11]

Žalgiris Kaunas (2024–2026)

On 1 July 2024, Francisco signed a two-year (1+1) deal with Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague.[12]

On 1 March 2025, he was named a Euroleague Round 27 MVP, sharing the honor with Carlik Jones. He had 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.[13]

On 11 March 2025, Francisco signed a contract extension with the team until the 2026–27 season, with a clause allowing him to leave in the summer of 2026 for a buyout.[14]

Francisco helped Žalgiris regain the LKL championship in June, with Žalgiris beating Rytas Vilnius 3–2 in the finals. In the fourth game, Francisco hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating three pointer to help Žalgiris win 84-83 and force the deciding fifth game. He was the LKL Finals MVP.

In October 2025, Francisco was named the EuroLeague MVP of the Month after leading Žalgiris to a 6–2 start to the 2025–26 season. He averaged 14.9 points and 6.8 assists while shooting 54.1% on two-pointers and 40.4% from three-point range.[15]

During the 2025–26 EuroLeague season, Francisco averaged 16.7 points and 6.4 assists per game and helped Žalgiris Kaunas finish fifth in the regular season. On 25 February 2026, he notably recorded 23 points and 7 assists in a 99–94 double-overtime win against leader Olympiacos, and scored 10 points in overtime.[16]

On 24 April 2026, he was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the first time in his career.[17] He finished second in the EuroLeague MVP voting, behind Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos.[18]

On 13 June 2026, Francisco announced that he would be leaving Žalgiris.[19]

Panathinaikos (2026–present)

On 30 June 2026, Francisco signed with LDLC ASVEL of the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague.[20] However, shortly after his arrival, ASVEL encountered financial difficulties after a planned investment partnership failed to provide the guarantees required by the French basketball financial control authority (DNCCG). The club was forced to significantly reduce its projected budget for the 2026–27 season, creating uncertainty regarding several of its summer signings. As a result, Francisco left the club before making an official appearance for ASVEL.[21]

On 30 July 2026, Francisco signed with Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague.[22]

National team career

Francisco was a member of the junior French national teams. He played with France's junior national team at the 2016 FIBA U20 European Championship. On 24 February 2022, Francisco landed his first selection with the senior French national team, for the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.[23] He also represented France at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket 2025.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance index rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2023–24 Bayern Munich 33019.3.387.354.8141.73.2.7—10.610.7
2024–25 Žalgiris 341825.3.479.342.7562.64.5.4.214.615.6
2025–26 423527.4.435.386.7992.96.51.0.316.519.2
Career 1095324.2.411.364.7862.54.9.9.114.115.5

EuroCup

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2017–18 Metropolitans 92 10216.6.591.500.7271.51.6.4.17.27.0
Career 10216.6.591.500.7271.51.6.4.17.27.0

Basketball Champions League

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Manresa 16119.9.390.311.8441.83.21.1.111.7
2022–23 Peristeri 9531.5.447.344.7802.15.81.8.216.2
Career 25624.0.412.324.8081.94.11.4.113.4

Domestic leagues

Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18France Metropolitans 92Pro A2412.7.280.2121.0001.11.9.4.13.5
2018–19France ParisPro B2623.5.386.353.7382.73.41.5.19.6
2019–20France ParisPro B2330.6.386.321.7163.55.51.9.213.1
2020–21France Chorale RoanneLNB Élite3230.3.425.284.7072.94.71.9.214.7
2021–22Spain ManresaACB3018.1.402.342.7301.23.3.9.210.7
2022–23Greece PeristeriGBL3127.7.409.298.6902.95.31.5.112.6
2023–24Germany Bayern MunichBBL3318.1.467.397.7941.73.21.1—11.7
2024–25Lithuania ŽalgirisLKL4121.4.586.329.8062.55.51.0.313.9
2025–26Lithuania ŽalgirisLKL3019.1.429.388.7401.74.7.8.311.8

References

  1. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco Player Profile, Peristeri BC". RealGM. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. ↑ "Sylvain FRANCISCO at the Basketball Champions League - BCL 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Mamou, Shaï (19 September 2018). "Sylvain Francisco au clash pour rentrer aux Etats-Unis ?". BasketSession.com (in French). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco Renforce le Paris Basketball". Bebasket. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
  5. ↑ "OFFICIEL : SYLVAIN FRANCISCO DÉBARQUE À ROANNE". Bebasket. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Le meneur Sylvain Francisco libéré par Roanne | Basket Europe" (in French). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (29 August 2021). "Sylvain Francisco va bien jouer pour Manresa cette saison". bebasket.fr. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (29 June 2022). "Sylvain Francisco à la Summer League avec Milwaukee". bebasket.fr.
  9. ↑ Gabriel Pantel-Jouve (12 September 2022). "Sylvain Francisco s'engage avec le club grec de Peristéri". bebasket.fr.
  10. ↑ "Bayern Basketball announced Sylvain Francisco". Sportando. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "18.02.2024 - FCB vs ULM". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco joins Zalgiris Kaunas". Sportando. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco and Carlik Jones named EuroLeague co-MVPs of Round 27". Eurohoops. 1 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco signs contract extension with Zalgiris". Eurohoops. 11 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  15. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco named EuroLeague MVP for October". EuroLeague. 31 October 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco en fusion !" [Sylvain Francisco on fire!]. Basket Europe (in French). 26 February 2026.
  17. ↑ "The All-EuroLeague First Team celebrates the best 2025-26 players". Eurohoops. 24 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Vezenkov wins second EuroLeague MVP award". Eurohoops. 26 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco confirms Zalgiris exit: 'It was my last game'". 13 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "SYLVAIN FRANCISCO JOINS LDLC ASVEL" (in French). 30 June 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "ASVEL may operate with a lower budget than initially expected for 2026-27 season". 16 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Sylvain Francisco joins Panathinaikos BC AKTOR". 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  23. ↑ Théo Quintard (26 February 2022). "Après une sortie plutôt positive contre le Portugal jeudi, Sylvain Francisco veut confirmer". bebasket.fr. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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