Who is on France men's basketball team's coaching staff? Closer look at team personnel

France men's basketball team will face Team USA men's basketball team for the gold medal match in the Olympics final on Saturday. This is the second time in a row that France will face the USA in the Olympic gold medal game. Both teams faced each other in the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The coaching staff of the France men's basketball team has been elite. They are the biggest reason behind the French team's success. Let's look at the personnel behind France's success in the Paris Olympics.

Who is on France men's basketball team's coaching staff?

Head Coach: Vincent Collet

Vincent Collet has been the head coach of the France men’s basketball team for 15 years. He has been coaching the team since 2009 and has been successful at every level of the international stage. This year, Collet will have another medal to his Olympic resume.

Collet led his team to the third Olympic medal and third silver in basketball in 2020 at the Tokyo Olympics. He has led his team to two bronze medals in the FIBA World Cup in 2014 and 2019. Collet led France to a FIBA EuroBasket Championship in 2013.

He has led his team to two silver medals in FIBA EuroBasket in 2011 and 2022. In 2015, France won a bronze medal in EuroBasket. Collet has won the French League Best Coach award five times since becoming the head coach for Metropolitans 92, a team in France’s Pro A league.

Collet also played professional basketball from 1981 to 1998. He is also the 1982 French Pro A League champion.

Assistant Coach: Kenny Atkinson

An unlikely addition to the France men's basketball team, Kenny Atkinson is someone that Team USA will have to be careful about. Atkinson has over two decades of coaching experience, and he has spent over 16 years around NBA players.

Atkinson has 12 years of experience as an assistant coach and four years of experience as a head coach. Interestingly, Atkinson spent the last three years working as an assistant coach under Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors and Team USA.

He will be crucial in giving insight into Kerr’s game plan in the Olympic final. Earlier this year, Atkinson was appointed head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.

Assistant Coach: Pascal Donnadieu

Pascal Donnadieu is one of the longest-serving coaches in the French basketball. He has been a coach for over 37 years now. Donnadieu has been an assistant coach for the France Men’s National Team since 2016.

Donnadieu started his coaching career with Pro A-League club Nanterre 92 in France, where he had been coaching since 1987. He parted ways with the club in 2024. As a coach, he is a French League champion, a two-time French Cup winner and a two-time French Supercup champion. In 2019, Donnadieu also won the LNB Pro A Best Coach.

Assistant Coach: Ruddy Nelhomme

Ruddy Nelhomme has been working as an assistant coach for the France men’s basketball team since 2010. He played an instrumental role in the France team winning a silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Nelhomme is also a head coach in a Pro B league in France. He has been working as a head coach for Poitiers 86 Pr-B league since 2007.