Louis Devoti

Louis Devoti demonstrated his basketball talent at an early age but, during World War II, he opted to work in a factory rather than play for a local team due to the former’s guarantee of an income. After the conflict, however, he joined CSM Auboué and, in 1947, was runner-up in the French Basketball Cup. The following year, Devoti joined the national team and was selected to represent France at the 1948 London Olympics, but he was sidelined by an illness and could not participate. The following year, he travelled to EuroBasket and took silver behind Egypt. He was a bronze medalist at the same tournament in 1951 and made his Olympic début at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where France eventually placed eighth; Devoti played in four of the team’s seven matches.

Devoti’s tenure with the national team ended in 1956, but he remained with CSM Auboué until his 1963 retirement. During that time, he won three French premier league titles (1953, 1956, and 1957), one French Basketball Cup in 1956, and was runner-up in the latter tournament in 1960.