'He's Adapting': Paris Olympics Aren't Victor Wembanyama's To Win: It's Up To France

Victor Wembanyama has taken the world stage for the first time in his career, and while his impact hasn't been as strong offensively as it was in April in the NBA, it's been made elsewhere. For France, that doesn't come as a surprise.

Matt Guzman | Aug 9, 2024

Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; France power forward Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrates alongside shooting guard Isaia Cordinier (8) during the second half against Germany in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

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Victor Wembanyama remembers the smile on Dennis Schröder's face.

He remembers the smile on almost every German player just a few days before Les Bleus took the court against them for the second time of the 2024 Olympics. The way they seemed to brush off his team as if it had no business being there.

Oh, he remembers.

"That pushed us to give everything on the court," the 20-year-old explained. "We remembered how they were laughing last game ... How easy it looked for them."

In that 14-point loss, France was forced to go through a period of reflection. Even in the feel-out contests prior to group play, it never looked truly dominant. And now this? Murmurs that it might not even make it out of its grouping began to get louder than it would've liked.

After all, if it couldn't even come within single digits of Germany, how could it make a run at a gold medal? Chances were slim.

But Wembanyama had been against the odds before. He knew first-hand that preliminary showings didn't always dictate results when they mattered — just look at his first-ever Summer League game — so he wasn't worried.

That mindset carried over to the rest of his teammates.

France small forward Nicolas Batum and power forward Victor Wembanyama celebrate during the second half against Germany.

Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; France small forward Nicolas Batum (5) and power forward Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrate during the second half against Germany in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

"We all had to realize our roles, our history, and the direction we wanted to take," Wembanyama explained. "The players were dedicated to fixing everything. We had four days (since the loss to Germany).

"That's a lot of time to think and fix things."

Beyond the off days that came in between group play and the knock-out stage, France also had a game against Canada to prepare for a potential rematch. It used it well, knocking off Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company en route to a semifinal berth, and then put its focus on Germany.

Spoiler: France won, but Wembanyama — like his other Olympic performances — didn't light up the stat sheet. He played well, but he wasn't a leading scorer or a knock-down shooter.

The good news was that he didn't need to be. While he was struggling offensively, other teammates were able to pick up the slack. Guerschon Yabusele, Isaïa Cordinier and even Mathias Lessort showed out — picking up fouls, grabbing rebounds and connecting from 3 — to elevate France past the ceiling that other teams seemingly imposed on it, Germany included.

Yeah, it remembered.

They remembered.

Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; France power forward Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrates during the second half against Germany in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps it was the image of Schöder laughing that got them going, or maybe it was the idea of making history with a chance to win gold for the first time ever. It could have been the fans, too.

That fact seemed to stick with France more than the other two.

"Three years ago, it was just us and the players,” Les Bleus coach Vincent Collet said, outlining the difference between Tokyo in 2021 and Paris three years later. "Playing with 15,000 spectators who pushed and who had the same desire as us for us to go to the Final, is something unique.”

Having fans cheering as if it was a home game for France gave Wembanyama and his teammates all the more reason to play well. And while the 7-footer's offensive game wasn't quite clicking, his defensive game certainly was. In fact, he was the anchor for France on that end.

"In the last two games, he has been very valuable in defense ... on the rebounds," Collet said. "We do not always realize his impact. There were several small openings where he found himself doubled by the defense, and despite everything, he handled these situations very well."

As for the struggles the first-time Olympian was facing?

“Victor is only discovering FIBA basketball at a very high level,” Collet added. “He is adapting."

Taking the world stage for the first time of his young career just a few months after finishing his rookie campaign with the San Antonio Spurs made for a difficult task. Wembanyama set out, again, with outside expectations beyond the stars.

Some might have even said that without a gold medal, his run wouldn't matter. He knew that wasn't true, but it didn't stop the noise from happening. At that point, it was up to him to ignore it.

That, and do his job on the defensive end. But that's where his teammates came in.

“With Guerschon instead of Rudy (Gobert), we have more space to play on offense," Collet explained of Yabusele's impact with Gobert on the bench. "With Rudy in the paint ... it put more defensive pressure on Victor. Guerschon brings size on offense, so they had to focus on him."

Wembanyama himself has a chance to make history with France, but the expectations don't fall solely on him. He doesn't have anything to prove. Les Bleus collectively? Certainly. They'll be up against a super team in the final with a chance to put the world on notice.

But if it doesn't happen? If Wembanyama wins Silver?

Nothing about his legacy will change. Wembanyama's minimized role throughout the knock-out stages have only proven that the Olympics aren't his to win. They're France's.

However Saturday's matchup goes, Les Bleus will have left their mark. Wembanyama, Yabusele, Cordinier, Lessort and everyone else involved will have.

They'll remember that, too.

But for now, they're focused on taking on Team USA.

“We just want to win,” Yabusele said of the upcoming matchup, before the USA-Serbia game was settled.“Whoever (we play), we’re going to figure it out.”

Published Aug 9, 2024

MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.