Rostyslav Novytskyi: French basketball surprised me with its physicality

Rostyslav Novytskyi: French basketball surprised me with its physicality AI

On 24 September 2026, Dynamo Bucharest centre Rostyslav Novytskyi described how a scout spotted him at a Kyiv youth camp and invited him to join Nanterre at 15. He says French basketball felt much more physical and that adapting to life and learning French was difficult. A Kyiv youth camp led to his move to Nanterre; the interview highlights language and playing-style hurdles young Ukrainians face abroad.

Rostyslav Novytskyi, the centre now with Dynamo Bucharest, told Sport.ua that a French agent spotted him while he was playing at a camp in Kyiv. At 15 he moved to the Paris area to join Nanterre after the club’s manager singled him out during matches involving Avanhard and KSLI.

Novytskyi said the biggest surprise was how physical the French game felt compared with Ukraine, attributing the difference partly to the presence of many strong, often Black, players who dominated inside from a young age. Off the court, life was hard at first: he lived without family, many people did not speak English, and he was pressured to learn French.

Academically he finished 11th grade remotely, returning in winter for exams and later sitting Ukraine’s ZNO, which he says he did not prepare heavily for.

Know what Kyiv knows.