No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama won’t represent France at the FIBA World Cup, allowing him to focus on his NBA rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs. Here’s what you need to know:
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What led to Wembanyama’s decision?
There’s quite a bit of irony in Wembanyama’s about-face at the World Cup.
It came after sitting down with his new coach, Gregg Popovich, who had just completed a cycle coaching for Team USA – including the 2019 World Cup.
Wembanyama has been saying all along that he intends to play for France this summer. He was part of the Les Bleus qualifying teams. He said he plans to play at the World Cup later this month.
On draft night, however, Popovich told the media in San Antonio, “I don’t think that decision has been made yet,” when asked about Wembanyama’s availability for the French side and a weekend between the all-time great coach and his new one Coach Star, Wembanyama pulls out. – Vardon
Impact on France at the World Cup
The French were minutes away from beating Popovich’s USA team in the gold medal game in Tokyo without Wembanyama, so they should still be a serious threat this summer – even after that decision. But it would have been fun to see Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert play on the same front (two 7fters).
Wembanyama still has plans to play for France at the Paris Olympics next summer. Les Bleus are still chasing Joel Embiid, so the possibility of a 7ft line of Embiid, Gobert and Wemby is still on the horizon.
Just not for the World Cup. – Vardon
What Wembanyama said
“It would be unrealistic in terms of development and unwise in terms of health,” Wembanyama said, according to an Associated Press translation. “I hope people will understand. It’s frustrating for me too. The French team is as central as ever. I want to win as many titles as possible with them. But I think it’s a necessary sacrifice.”
Wembanyama said Spurs did not press him to forego the World Cup and it was his decision to make it after consulting his own medical team. Referring to the large number of games in the NBA season (82), he said it would be too much to play the World Cup and the 2023-24 NBA season before representing France at the Paris 2024 Olympics plays.
The 7-foot-4 center has played 62 games with French pro team Metropolitans 92 this season. He averaged 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and helped the Metropolitans 92 advance to the French League finals, where they lost to AS Monaco.
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(Photo: Troy Taormina / USA Today)