Credit: Twitter
Victor Wembanyama, the French basketball prodigy and the number one pick in the 2023 NBA draft, has confirmed his participation for France at the Paris Olympics in 2024. The 7-foot-4 centre, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, announced his decision after Paris failed to perform up to the mark at the recent FIBA World Cup.
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Wembanyama, who turned 19 in January, is widely regarded as one of the best young players in the world, with a rare combination of size, skill, athleticism and versatility. He has received comparisons to NBA legends such as Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki and French his compatriot Rudy Gobert, the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“Performing well at the Olympics would be a great story,” Wembanyama told French reporters. “I’ll be present at the Olympics, and there’s no other goal than gold,” the 20-year-old added further. “The World Cup was very disappointing,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “But I have no judgment to make as I wasn’t there.”
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Wembanyama, made a deliberate choice, to miss the just-finished FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 after talking with his advisers, the medical staff, and several members of the French national team's management. During the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers last November, Wemby made his French national team debut. He participated in four games for France, scoring 19.0 points with 8.3 rebounds at an efficiency of 22.5.
In the 2023 NBA draft, Wembanyama was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs, making him the second French player to be drafted first after Tony Parker in 2001.
