The France national basketball team heading to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has some serious height on it. In addition to the Minnesota Timberwolves 7-foot-1 Rudy Gobert, the team also boasts 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. However, a viral photo of the team is throwing both those program heights into question.
The photo in question makes it look as though Wembanyama is more than three inches taller than Gobert, which is leading fans to ask whether the T’wolves center is shorter than listed or if the 20-year-old Spurs star is actually taller than advertised.
In the end, the real answer could just be that the photograph makes Wemby look a little taller than he is or Gobert a little shorter. However, in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, reports about Wembanyama’s height varied from 7-foot-2 to 7-foot-6. While the league lists him at 7-foot-4, it is possible he is taller than that now, especially since at 20, there’s a chance he’s still growing.
Either way, what we do know is that France will be ridiculously tall at the Paris Summer Olympics, and that could help them challenge the U.S. team for the gold.
France is a contender for gold at Paris Olympics
The France roster is loaded heading into the Paris Olympics, and the home team has a real shot at a medal, maybe even gold.
In addition to Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, the team also has a host of current and former NBA players like Nicholas Batum, Bilal Coulibaly, Evan Fournier, Theo Maledon, Frank Ntilikina, Vincent Poirier, Guerschon Yabusele, and Nando de Colo.
This roster means the team has some solid guards with international experience, a lot of length and skill on the wings, and the two big men in the middle who should be a nightmare for the opposition on the defense side of the ball especially.
Pair all of that with the homecourt advantage the team will enjoy in Paris, and the France squad has a real chance of ending up on the podium at the end of the games that run from July 26 to Aug 11.
This Summer Olympics basketball tournament will be hotly contested, though, with several teams having rosters that could challenge the U.S.
Nicola Jokic’s Serbia, Canada, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, an Australian team featuring eight current NBA players, and the FIBA World Cup-winning Germany team will all be tough to play.
The step up in international competition comes as the U.S. team is in a bit of a transition phase.
This Olympic squad pairs a host of aging veterans like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant with several up-and-coming youngsters like Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton.
Seeing how this team plays together, especially with first-time U.S. Olympian Joel Embiid, will be interesting. It will also be fascinating to see which generation of players steps up and leads this team on the floor.
It’s safe to say, though, that even if the Americans do take home the gold in Paris, it won’t be an easy task.
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