Matthew Strazel

Strazel was born in Bourg-la-Reine, in the southern suburbs of Paris, into a family with roots in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe.^[1] He signed a contract to join the youth sections of ASVEL after starting his career with its partner club, Marne-la-Vallée.^[2] In the 2017–18 season, he split time between the club's under-18 team and with Espoirs Lyon in LNB Espoirs, the French under-21 league, where he came off the bench.^[3] In 2018–19, he became a regular Espoirs player, averaging 14.5 points, 4.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.^[4] On 6 May 2019, Strazel scored 44 points for the U18 ASVEL in a 110–100 loss to U18 JL Bourg during the semifinals of the French U18 Championship.^[5]

On 31 July 2019, when he was 16 years old, Strazel signed his first professional contract with ASVEL.^[6] He made his senior debut on 6 October, playing five minutes in an 85–76 win over Cholet.^[7] On 29 October, Strazel made his EuroLeague debut, scoring nine points with three three-pointers in 13 minutes to help defeat Baskonia, 66–63.^[8] On 10 March 2020, he scored a season-high 17 points in a 95–83 victory over Monaco.^[9] On 10 June 2020, Strazel signed a contract extension with the team until 2025,^[10] but left in 2022, when signing a three-year deal with AS Monaco on June 21, 2022.^[11]

Strazel was part of the France national team in the 2024 Olympics. He hit a crucial four-point play in the final minutes of the group stage game against Japan, which brought the game to overtime in which France managed to win.^[12][13]