France World Cup 'Very Disappointing,' Says Spurs' Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama will represent France in the 2024 Paris Olympics after his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs.

SAN ANTONIO - It's official. Victor Wembanyama is playing for France in next summer's Olympics in his hometown of Paris. While this has been a foregone conclusion since the San Antonio Spurs drafted him it's now a done deal.

Not that it mattered but it certainly couldn't have been fun for Wemby watching his countrymen flame out of the FIBA World Cup without a medal. He was always going to play in the Olympics but now there's extra motivation after France's World Cup frustrations.

"The World Cup was very disappointing," Wembanyama told L'Equipe. "But I have no judgement to make as I wasn't there."

He was in Texas mostly preparing for training camp that gets rolling soon. When he wasn't posting videos of himself shooting or stretching without a shirt, Wemby has been seen in a few restaurants and even shopping in a local arts district a couple of weeks ago.

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But many of his thoughts have certainly been on his responsibility to French basketball. Especially now with the added pressure after the meltdown at the World Cup.

"Performing well at The Olympics would be a great story," Wemby said. "There's no other goal than gold."

For the Spurs, the immediate task is getting him ready for his rookie season in the NBA. Next summer seems like a long time from now and who knows what lies in store until then. But make no mistake. If he's healthy, Wemby won't spend next summer posing for pictures with local artists. He'll be in Paris trying to make amends.