Vive la France, before we vive LeBron’s son.
Those figure to be among the primary international and domestic storylines as the two-round NBA draft shifts to a two-day format this year.
With USC freshman Bronny James’ destination expected to provide an intriguing reason to watch Thursday’s second round, French teenagers could be selected with the first two picks of the draft Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
French center Alex Sarr has been surpassed in most recent mock drafts — including Brian Lewis’ latest pick-by-pick predictions in The Post — by countryman Zaccharie Risacher, a 6-foot-9 wing now widely projected to be selected with the first-overall pick by the Hawks.
If either player is taken at No. 1, that would mark a historic first after French wunderkind Victor Wembanyama was tabbed first overall one year ago by the Spurs.
No European country ever has boasted the first-overall selection in back-to-back years in NBA history.
“That’s amazing to see we’re growing as a nation. … It’s special to see,” Risacher said at Tuesday’s pre-draft media availability in Manhattan. “That would be cool, that would be an accomplishment for me and also for the country.”
The first back-to-back international players who went first overall in consecutive years were Australia’s Andruw Bogut (Bucks) and Italy’s Andrea Bargnani (Raptors) in 2005-06.
But the only other country outside the U.S. to have two straight No. 1 selections was Canada in 2013-14, when the Cavaliers picked Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins.
Bennett was among the biggest busts ever atop the draft — playing only 151 NBA games — while Wiggins was dealt for Kevin Love before playing a game for the Cavaliers.
There also have been reports of the Hawks entertaining trade offers for this year’s No. 1 spot, possibly in a trade down with the Spurs, who own the No. 4 and No. 8 picks. That could mean Risacher and Wembanyama joining forces in San Antonio.
“Anything can happen on draft night,” Risacher noted. “You can be drafted and traded a couple minutes later, so it’s kind of crazy how things work. … I have to wait and see what team I’m gonna play for. That’s a lot to think about.”
Sarr, who has played for the Overtime Elite developmental league in the United States plus one season in Australia, seems less likely to be selected and retained by the Hawks after he reportedly did not work out for them in the lead-up to the draft.
“I have a great team around me, they’ve already been through all of this, so I trust them,” said Sarr, whose older brother Olivier has made 46 appearances the past three seasons for the Thunder after playing collegiately at Wake Forest and Kentucky. “But I’m not going to get into the specifics of where I worked out and where I didn’t.”
Connecticut center Donovan Clingan could be one potential trade-down target for Atlanta, and he said he acknowledged working out for the Hawks.
But whichever teams are making the first two picks, history could be made.
“It would mean a lot,” Sarr said. “I played with Zaccharie for two years, and I’m really happy for him and for France, in general.
“It’s pretty funny. We haven’t talked about it much, but I’ve known him since I was 13 and we’ve played together. So if you told us last summer we would be in that position, we probably wouldn’t believe it.”
