This time, we are in Paris, inside the Adidas Arena, at the heart of one of Europe’s fastest-rising basketball clubs. For one night, we stepped into the noise, the lights, the music and the emotion surrounding the current French Betclic Elite champion Paris Basketball, a team trying to create not just wins, but a real culture.

In this episode, you will hear Isaiah Denzel, a fashion influencer from Paris, on the way basketball and style now feed each other in the city. You will hear Sebastian Herrera, the captain, on the club’s identity, the fans, and the energy that makes this team different.And you will discover Francesco Tabellini, who spent nine months as head coach, speaking about fight, effort and the connection between the players and the crowd. This is more than a game-night report. It is a snapshot of a club, a city and a movement.This is Paris Basketball. This is The Free League.

Thanks to the Paris Basketball for inviting me in their wonderful arena. Thanks to the two team Paris Basketball and ASVEL Lyon Villeurbanne. Thanks to Clara Desfoux.

Photo : Nadir Hifi, best scorer in the current EuroLeague 2025/2026, warming up.

Audio, text and photo by David Glaser

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Randoald Dessarzin is, before anything else, a Jurassian. The Pully-Lausanne Foxes head coach carved from the stubborn rock of his region, driven by an unwavering belief in basketball as both a craft and a calling. He is the coach who once carried the modest BC Boncourt squad to the highest levels of Swiss professional basketball. That achievement opened the doors of the storied JDA Dijon, in France’s top league, launching him into a journey marked by triumphs and turbulence.

Looking back, he speaks calmly of the storms that sometimes circled his career toward the end of his Burgundy chapter. He himself never felt personally endangered by the media squalls. What troubled him, rather, was the thought that his young children, fortunately still too small to read the papers or hear schoolyard whispers, might one day feel the weight of those public tempests.

During a season that had begun with promise (five wins, one loss, tied with Cholet) tragedy struck. A young prospect of the club, Jonathan Bourhis, also a member of the French junior national team, died in a car accident. When the sporting management refused to allow the entire team to attend the funeral, permitting only two foreign players to go, the decision tore the locker room apart. Two camps emerged, bitter and irreconcilable. Dessarzin never managed to heal the wound. It remains a dark memory in a long career that nevertheless carried him to the European Cup and later to Africa, where he led the Ivory Coast national team.

He reflects on how the modern basketball game demands as much psychology as strategy. Once, players simply followed directions. Now they question everything, search for shortcuts, enter the business world of agents at fifteen, and chase personal statistics, with defense, the invisible currency of champions, too often left in the shadows. He misses the earlier era, when loyalty to a club had weight and the horizon of a career was not constantly shifting.

Interview by David Glaser

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Mouna Skaria, a dermatologist and surgeon based in Vevey since 2005, entered basketball largely through her children, who joined the club in 2016, shortly before the formation of the Pully Lausanne Foxes in 2017. What began as volunteer work, from helping at club events to fundraising and managing teams, evolved into leadership roles, culminating in her becoming president five years later.

Under her guidance, the Foxes have developed a more strategic vision, strengthened marketing and communication, and built a strong volunteer base, 60% of whom are women. This inclusive environment has created a unique energy that drives the club forward.

A major challenge for the Foxes is accommodating young players. Despite a Swiss Olympic label and programs from U6 to U23, plus senior teams, several hundreds children are reportedly on waiting lists due to limited facilities. Mouna Skaria emphasizes that growth requires better infrastructure.

More professionalism ahead

Financially, the Foxes operate on a modest budget of around 350,000 francs, far below larger Swiss clubs such as Fribourg or Geneva. Yet, the team’s cohesion and dedication allowed them to finish third in the national championship last season. The President envisions further professionalization, possibly converting the club into a joint-stock company to increase investment capacity and staff professionalism.

The Foxes have expanded sponsorships from zero to more than thirty-five partners and continue to enhance the fan experience with events, VIP subscriptions, and growing merchandising. Skaria also stresses the educational and social role of basketball, teaching discipline, respect, and teamwork while fostering community solidarity, recently reinforced after the tragic loss of a young player followind the fire of the Bar Constellation in Crans-Montana the 1st of January 2026.

Looking ahead, her ambitions are clear: to win a national championship and establish a modern basketball arena in Lausanne, complete with fan zones, VIP areas, and community spaces, securing the Foxes’ place in the city’s sporting and social life.

Interview by David Glaser.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.