Victor Wembanyama puts basketball world on notice after Olympic loss: ‘Worried’ for opponents

Wembanyama, 20, was surely fired up after the French contingent fell to their American counterparts for the second consecutive Olympics in the gold medal game, forced to accept the silver despite giving the United States a run for its money. 

The NBA’s Rookie of the Year last season had an impressive showing in the gold medal game for France putting up 26 points and pulling down seven rebounds while adding two assists. 

He averaged 15.8 points per game during the Olympics and had 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists during the six games he played in during the summer games. 

The United States has been a dominating force in the Olympics since NBA players started to compete in the games in 1992 and the Americans have failed to win gold just once in that span. 

The one loss came in 2004 during the Olympic games in Athens. 

But France has developed into a rising player on the international stage with Wembanyama expected to play an even bigger role in 2028 when the Olympics come to Los Angeles.

The French also boasts the first and second overall picks from this year’s NBA draft, Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr respectively, and will be a good spot to contend for gold again in four years. 

Wembanyama played in his first NBA season in 2023-24 in which he averaged 21.4 points and recorded 10.6 rebounds, while shooting 46.5 percent from the field.