Victor Wembanyama, his image everywhere in France, delivers in ...
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — As the Summer Olympics approached, France’s basketball giant felt both sides of his burgeoning fame: His image was ubiquitous in Paris, even though he was anxious and doing his best to stay out of the limelight.
There on the cover of L’Équipe, the nationwide sports newspaper, was Victor Wembanyama posing pensively with his eyes closed and a basketball pressed to his forehead. At the modern art museum at Centre Pompidou, images of the San Antonio Spurs center leaping for a dunk beamed from a video board that was several stories tall. Tourists standing on the Montparnasse Tower’s observation deck, some two miles away, easily could make out his likeness. And Nike included Wembanyama in its official Olympics commercial, positioning the NBA’s unanimous rookie of the year alongside LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Yet Wembanyama and his teammates didn’t participate in Friday’s Opening Ceremonies, a notable absence that turned their 78-66 opening win over Brazil on Saturday into a grand reveal for the 7-foot-4 sensation. Facing the pressures of being the host country and living up to its silver medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics, France traded the pomp and circumstance of the Seine procession for what center Rudy Gobert called the “security and tranquility” of Lille, the charming city of 230,000 that is hosting the group stage of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
The getaway gave the French an opportunity to lick their wounds after a 2-4 showing in an exhibition run that included losses to Germany, Serbia, Canada and Australia. It also allowed Coach Vincent Collet to counsel Wembanyama about managing the outsize expectations that come with his first Olympics. France’s basketball program has produced a four-time NBA champion in Tony Parker and a four-time defensive player of the year in Gobert, but Wembanyama is the country’s first basketball phenomenon — a hardwood complement to soccer megastar Kylian Mbappé.
“People who know basketball understand he’s only 20 years old,” Collet said. “The people who like sports but don’t know basketball, they think Victor is already Michael Jordan. … A few days before the game, I felt he was a little bit stressed. We talked together. Everybody on the team tried to help him. He’s so mature. Day by day, he got better with that.”
Lille delights in its devotion to Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft and the heir to a French team seeking its first Olympic gold. This past week, fans in the city center donned several versions of his jerseys, including his No. 32 for France and No. 1 for the Spurs. Bshop, the city’s main basketball apparel store, constructed a large display in his honor next to murals of Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Inside suburban Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which was packed with 27,000 on Saturday, a group of die-hards banged drums, chanted encouragement and roared when Wembanyama took control of the game in the second quarter. Many fans held signs addressed to “Wemby,” including a young woman who scrawled a marriage proposal across France’s tricolor flag.
Putting aside the adulation, Wembanyama finds himself in a tricky spot. Despite being one of the headliners of the men’s basketball tournament, he’s also the new guy on a veteran-dominated roster that includes program mainstays Gobert, Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier. The big question entering the Games: Would Wembanyama fit into the experienced roster, or would the group morph around him?
“I’m taking everything that’s given to me and communicating a lot with my teammates,” Wembanyama said. “It’s about sacrifices. Inside, we have two of the very best players in the EuroLeague and two front-runners for [NBA] defensive player of the year. We’re all ready to give our spot to the next guy. The guys here who have played together for a long time know each other. I like the way they’ve tried to install me in the system.”
It was Wembanyama who sorted out the pecking order when he shook France out of its first-quarter nerves with impressive baskets in the paint. He twirled, stretched and dunked — using his game-changing wingspan to full effect against a Brazilian front line that tried its best to muscle him away from the paint. Wembanyama displayed excellent technique establishing position to receive entry passes, and he made decisive and powerful moves to set up highlight dunks with both hands.
On the defensive end, Wembanyama and Gobert made their presence felt by blocking shots on the same possession and scaring Brazil’s guards out of the paint. Even so, Collet went away from the 32-year-old Gobert more than he has in past international tournaments. By breaking up his twin towers combination, France’s coach created more offensive space and better scoring opportunities for Wembanyama.
By halftime of his Olympic debut, the prodigy had seized control of his national team. Wembanyama finished with a sparkling line of 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks, and he sealed a comeback victory by finishing a lob dunk in the closing minute.
“He’s obviously already our leader,” Collet said. “For Victor, the main thing was to go inside, where he’s sure to dominate every time. If he plays too much on the perimeter, he’s like any other player: Some nights you make the shots, and some nights you don’t.”
Though France survived some shaky backcourt play, the victory was crucial to its medal hopes. With a win against overmatched Japan on Tuesday, France can virtually guarantee a trip to Paris for the quarterfinals.
The French formula for a medal will require better production from its guards and more consistent intensity on defense. Even if those plans don’t materialize, Wembanyama should get the opportunity to fully test the boundaries of his game thanks to France’s veterans, who understand the program’s future has arrived ahead of schedule.
“[Wembanyama] knows who he is,” Batum said. “He knows what he has to do to be great. Take us home. That’s who you are right now. He’s not scared of the moment.”
