Jordan Poole met Bilal Coulibaly right away when he arrived at the Wizards last year. Since then, other French-speaking players have joined the franchise, prompting a biting remark from the former Golden State player.

Drafted into the NBA by the Warriors in 2019, he has mostly worked with American teammates during his four seasons there. However, since moving to the Wizards, Jordan Poole has had more international players.

Among them are a few Frenchmen, namely Bilal Coulibaly and Alexandre Sarr. Not to mention Kyshawn George, a rookie who trained in Chalon-sur-Saône and therefore speaks French.

Jordan Poole is outspoken in his criticism of the French-speaking Wizards

As a leader in the Washington D.C. ranks, Poole therefore has to interact and spend time with his counterparts. This is an example of what he did to Coulibaly last April, who was seen with the young French winger at a high-profile Paris location.

As part of a recent Media Day, he revealed his love for the French capital on The Hoffman Show:

Jordan Poole: I wouldn’t go to Paris when there are so many people there for the Olympics, no. No way. But I love Paris. I love the glamour that the city exudes. People don’t pay attention to other people.

People walking by are always dressed well. I wouldn’t say they’re warm and welcoming, but they don’t bother you. But I like the energy, yeah.

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Despite his love for the City of Light, Poole still has a bit of trouble making himself understood there, admitting that he’s not yet fluent in French. That said, he has the perfect teachers in his supporting cast:

Jordan Poole: There are three players on the team who speak French, so I spend all day and all year asking them questions.

According to the 2022 champion, Bilal Coulibaly has been particularly helpful in this regard since their early-season meeting. However, even if he shows a desire to learn the language of Molière, he would almost regret hearing it so often in the Wiz infrastructure:

Jordan Poole: There are too many French people here! We only hear “Yes, yes”, “Good job” and all that.

If he wants to be able to participate in all the conversations in his franchise, JP3 will have to improve quickly. And suffice it to say, he’s got a job, based on the only thing he learned from his Duolingo courses:

Jordan Poole: I started with that word, but I only learned “pussy.”

Despite his efforts to understand and speak French, Jordan Poole still laments the prevalence of French at Wizards. A phenomenon he’ll have to get used to alongside Bilal Coulibaly, Alexandre Sarr, and Kyshawn George.

It’s true that neither of the aforementioned media outlets mentioned the Frenchman’s performance, at least on social media.

Unfortunately, this would confirm the status Bradeaux has given him here, namely as the most overlooked No. 1 Draft pick in recent years. An unfortunate trend that was observed in a recent survey of the league’s GMs.

However, the host of the Bradeaux&Will Show still made sure to defend the Atlanta rookie’s body and soul on X: