Hugo Eric Besson (born 26 April 2001) is a French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Tofaş TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...

of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL). He debuted in the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

in 2018 with

Élan Chalon Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...

. After two seasons with Chalon, he was loaned to Saint-Quentin BB of the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the second-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since the year 1987. The regular se ...

and led the league in scoring in the 2020–21 season. After a season with the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

in the Australian NBL, he was drafted by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

with the 58th overall pick in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

Early life and career

Besson was born in

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

, France. He grew up in the

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

town of

Bandol Bandol (; ) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The region, located near the coast ...

. He started his youth basketball career in 2016 as a member of the

Antibes Sharks Olympique Antibes, in full ''Olympique d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins'' and branded as Antibes Sharks, is a basketball club from the city of Antibes, France. Established in 1933, the club's men's senior team currently plays in LNB Pro B, the French secon ...

. He averaged 5.1 points in 15 games with the Under 21 team during the 2016–17 season. He joined

in 2017 and played for the Under 21 team. In 27 games during the 2017–18 season, he averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

Professional career

Élan Chalon (2018–2021)

Between 2018 and 2020, Besson was a member of the

senior squad. He played 14 games in the

over two seasons. In the ProA U21 competition, he averaged 18.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.1 steals in 28 games during the 2018–19 season, and 26.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in six games during the 2019–20 season. In June 2020, Besson signed a three-year contract with Élan Chalon and was subsequently loaned to Saint-Quentin BB of the

. He led the league in scoring during the 2020–21 season with 19.5 points per game. He also averaged 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 steals in 26 games. He was nominated for league MVP and earned all-star five and best youngster. His No. 25 jersey was later retired by Saint-Quentin BB.

2021 off-season

Besson was courted by several European clubs during 2021, including

Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D commonly known as Saski Baskonia () and also simply as Baskonia, is a professional basketball team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. History 1959–1969 ...

and

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

, and was in the running for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. He withdrew his name from the draft after being unable to participate in work-outs due to an ankle injury. In August 2021, he was ranked by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

as the 35th top prospect for the

New Zealand Breakers (2021–2022)

On 23 September 2021, Besson signed with the

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2021–22 season. In his debut for the Breakers on 4 December, he scored 10 points in an 89–65 season-opening loss to the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The t ...

. He scored 20 or more points in each of the next three games. He had two 20-point games in March 2022. Besson left the Breakers on 17 April 2022 in order to prepare for the NBA draft. In 25 games, he averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

Metropolitans 92 (2022–2023)

On 13 August 2022, Besson signed with

Metropolitans 92 Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the French basketball league system, highest-tier level in French basketball. ...

of the

. He was sidelined between 9 January and 16 May with a hip injury. His minutes decreased after returning from injury, as he helped the team reach the Pro A finals, where they lost 3–0 to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. Besson played just five minutes from the bench in the game three defeat. In 25 games, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Besson re-joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the

2023 NBA Summer League The 2023 NBA Summer League (branded as ''NBA 2K, NBA 2K24'' Summer League 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las ...

FMP Meridian (2023–2024)

On 30 September 2023, Besson signed a two-year deal with FMP Meridian of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

and the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

. However, on 11 February 2024, he parted ways with the club.

Openjobmetis Varese (2024)

On 26 February 2024, Besson signed with

Openjobmetis Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA. For past club spo ...

of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

Manisa Basket (2024–2025)

On 4 September 2024, Besson signed with

Manisa Basket Manisa Basket, mostly known as Manisa Basket Divissa for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional basketball club based in Manisa, that competes in the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi. The team plays its matches in Muradiye Sports Hall. Cur ...

of the

(BSL). He averaged 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 29 games in the BSL during the 2024–25 season; and 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals in 14 games in the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

(BCL).

Tofaş (2025–present)

On July 15, 2025, Besson signed with

of the BSL, returning to the league for a second stint.

NBA draft rights and Summer League

Besson was selected with the 58th overall pick in the

by the

. His draft rights were then immediately traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. He joined the Bucks for the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

. On 6 February 2025, Besson's draft rights were traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

in a multi-team trade.

National team career

In June 2021, Besson was called up to the French Under 20 national team ahead of the FIBA U20 European Challengers. He ultimately did not play with the final team.

Personal life

Besson's father, uncle, and grandfather have all played and coached professional basketball. He has a sister named Jade.

References

External links

Turkish BSL profile
*
Lega Basket Serie A profileABA League profile2023 LNB profileNew Zealand Breakers profile2022 NBA Draft profile2021 NBA Draft profileNBADraft.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besson, Hugo 2001 births Living people 21st-century French sportsmen Élan Chalon players French expatriate basketball people in Serbia French expatriate basketball people in the United States French expatriate basketball people in Turkey French expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand French men's basketball players Indiana Pacers draft picks KK FMP players Metropolitans 92 players Manisa Basket players New Zealand Breakers players Point guards Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Angers