Victor Wembanyama is poised to experience the Olympic spotlight as the host city of Paris plays backdrop to the basketball tournament. For the first week of the Games, the basketball events took place away from the grandeur of the city, in a secluded setting that limited exposure to fans and media. Only dedicated supporters made the trek to Lille to witness Wembanyama’s first three games as he represents France in his Olympic debut.
That dynamic changes on Tuesday when Wembanyama and his teammates enter the knockout stage with a quarterfinal matchup against Canada. The 20-year-old star expresses readiness for the challenge, acknowledging that France welcomes the opportunity to compete as one of the final eight teams for the fourth consecutive Olympics. Following their silver medal finish in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, France finds itself on the same side of the bracket as the reigning 2023 FIBA World Cup champions, Germany.
“If we want to win it all, we’re going to have to win against everybody eventually,” Wembanyama stated.
France achieved victories in its first two group stage games, defeating Brazil and Japan, but suffered a setback against Germany, which highlighted a lack of synergy between Wembanyama and fellow 7-footer Rudy Gobert.
If France successfully overcomes Canada and advances past the winner of the Germany vs. Greece semifinal, they could face a potential rematch with the United States, who defeated France in the Tokyo gold medal match. This time, however, France would have Wembanyama on their side.
Evan Fournier of France recognized the challenge ahead, stating, “The obvious choice is USA. It’s definitely them, they are the No. 1 contender. But after that, there’s a few teams that have a shot. It’s basketball; just one game, a lot of things can happen, so we’ll see.”
France’s coach, Vincent Collet, acknowledged the areas of concern stemming from the loss to Germany, including the team’s tendency to become stagnant offensively. In that game, France recorded assists on just 15 of their 25 made field goals, an issue Collet intends to address.
“We have to worry, but we have to be able to stay together and to use it for the next round,” Collet remarked. “Now, it’s even; if we are down and Canada is up, we will be 0-0 on Tuesday, and they have more to lose than us in this position, so we must use that.”
Collet emphasized the importance of sticking to the fundamentals that guided France to victories over Brazil and Japan. He noted the necessity of avoiding individual play in favor of fundamental team strategies.
“The main thing is what we talk about before: the fundamentals, desire, energy,” Collet explained. “And the simple things: screens, passes, quick passes. Not keep the ball and trying to go one-on-one.”
Wembanyama highlighted the team’s awareness of the effort required to achieve a medal by the end of the week. “We’ve all got the good will, the good energy. Now I think we have to trust in the coaching more, trust in our teammates a bit more,” he said.
