When soccer news from outside of Europe penetrates the global consciousness, it is often some outlandish item, a curiosity of the can-you-believe-it variety. Two of the more famous incidents to come from West Africa since the turn of the millenium include the February 2002 arrest of Cameroon head coach Winfried Schafer at the Africa Cup of Nations for allegedly planting an amulet on the field and, in the summer of that year, the wild ride of Senegal’s team at the World Cup, where their success was rumored to be aided by the country’s marabouts, which are similar to shamans.

(CNN)They stood united on the Olympic podium, heads bowed, black-gloved fists raised in the Black Power salute while the "The Star Spangled Banner" rang out to honor athletic achievement.

This month marks fifty years since the 1968 Mexico Games, most often recalled for the athlete protests they spotlighted as part of that year’s global turbulence. But while popular memory focuses upon the Olympians and professionals whose actions, rhetoric, and examples helped draw attention to injustices, what about the athletes they inspired?

There’s a lot to be said about sport diplomacy, and hoops diplomacy has often gotten short shift. But in many ways, basketball is a sport primed for this prism.

If Summer 2018 showed us anything, it’s the importance of communicating globally about sport and our world today.

Basketball is often overlooked as one of the world's major sports; but the fact that so many other countries on all of the continents play their own brand of the game gives pause to those who think that global hoops is only NBA. It's not, and there's a very rich history still waiting to be mined.

One of my favorite stories in my work on the evolution of French basketball, transatlantic hoops influences, and the globalization of the game is that of Martin Feinberg and the alumni of Paris Université Club's two U.S. tours in 1955-56 and 1962.

Now, the origins of that story is available via The Athletic.

"Tonight, I want us to be remembered by all the French people who are watching," France's Paul Pogba urged his teammates, "by their children, their grandchildren and their great grandchildren, too."

The stirring locker room pep talk before the recent World Cup final served as a rallying cry for Les Bleus'4-2 win over Croatia, a victory that won more than just a second star for their collection.

The nationwide celebration unleashed that night capped more than two months of speculation over France's fate in Russia and the inevitable comparisons to the nation's 1998 World Cup-winning team. But following the July 16 victory parade and ceremonies, the French Football Federation (FFF) reminded people that, "after Russia, the next one is at our [house]."

After​ France​ won​ the World​ Cup,​ Les​ Bleus fans, including some​ of​ the​ country’s​ NBA players congratulated​ the​​ new champions on social media. The Charlotte Hornets’ Nicolas Batum, whose Twitter match commentary tracked the final’s ups and downs, chirped his solidarity and shared images of celebrations in Paris, from the Champs Élysées to the Tour Eiffel. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, recently traded from Philadelphia to Oklahoma City, photographed his support and joy, while the Knicks’ “French Prince,” Frank Ntilikina, starred in the team’s gleeful World Cup tributes.