PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe lists his favorite NBA players alongside Kevin Durant after sitting courtside to watch the Nets’ win over San Antonio… but there’s no room for Steph Curry or Nikola Jokic in his top five list!
- The Frenchman was at the Barclays Center with teammate Achraf Hakimi on Monday
- He chose LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis as the league’s best player
- Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum are fourth and fifth against league MVP Nicola Jokic
- Steph Curry, Joel Embiid and Donovan Mitchell were all left off the list
- Click here for all your latest international Sports news from DailyMail.com
French superstar Kylian Mbappe has revealed his top five players in the NBA, shortly after PSG teammate Achraf Hakimi spotted them courtside watching the Brooklyn Nets beat the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
NBA France shared on Twitter, the 24-year-old listed LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antentokoumpo, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum at the top of his NBA player rankings.
However, the 2018 World Cup winner surprised basketball fans on Twitter by leaving out two players who have dominated the league in recent years, including last year’s MVP — Nikola Jokic, of the Denver Nuggets.
French superstar Kylian Mbappe revealed his top five NBA players during a visit to New York City
High-profile soccer stars were both courtside in Brooklyn for the Nets’ win over the Spurs
Another player is Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who is currently out on the wrist, but has averaged 30 points in 34.4 minutes this season.
‘Just a weird guys team Nike/Jordan,’ tweeted one French basketball fan, while another wrote: ‘Disastrous ranking but it’s Mbappe.’
‘And Pat Beverley plays ping pong,’ shared another NBA fan who lives in France.
‘It’s hard to pick a top 5, you pick according to your preferences: Jokic, Morant, Curry, Embiid, Mitchell… The individual level is stratospheric this year,’ another fan pointed out.
NBA fans on Twitter speculated that Mbappe deliberately chose Nike-sponsored players
Mbappe was presented with a signed jersey from Nets star Durant after Monday night’s win and shared a photo of himself with Hakimi and the two-time NBA champion with the caption: ‘Special Night’.
Hakimi and his 24-year-old teammate both reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where France knocked out Morocco before losing to Argentina in the final. In that game, Mbappe became only the second player to score a final hat-trick, after Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966.
The duo then quickly returned from the tournament to feature in both of PSG’s opening two games since the international break.
Mbappe and Hakimi (2R) have been given time off by PSG this week after a 3-1 defeat at RC Lens
The French champions lost their latest match, shockingly losing 3-1 to Ligue 1 minnows, RC Lens, on Sunday.
Following that match, PSG manager Christophe Galtier said he would be willing to give Mbappe and Hakimi time off to allow them to recover properly after being brought back from Qatar.
The French coach could field a starting XI without Mbappe and Hakimi to beat Chateauroux in the French Cup on Friday. PSG’s next match in Ligue 1 is against relegation-threatened Angers on January 11.
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