Team France fell in an epic 98-87 battle with Team USA in the Olympic gold medal match on Saturday. However, the Americans may have woken up the beast inside of Victor Wembanyama.
“Wemby” had a blunt response to the loss, via Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News.
“Victor Wembanyama, with a silver medal around his neck: ‘I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years,'” Finger reported. “'Everywhere [in FIBA and the NBA].'”
Wembanyama dominated in his first run at the Olympics, averaging 15.8 points per game with 9.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. The San Antonio Spurs superstar finished with 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting with seven boards and two assists against USA.
Of course, this is all after the 20-year-old won the NBA Rookie of the Year award this past season, showing he was worth the hype when the Spurs drafted him first overall out of France.
Victor Wembanyama can get even better after the 2024 Olympics
Injury notwithstanding, Wembanyama is on his way to a prolific basketball career. However, the 7-foot-4 big man is keeping things in perspective for now, via the AP's Kyle Hightower.
“I’m going to enjoy the moment,” Wembanyama said. “I’m proud of my teammates. I’m proud of having what we’ve done here in France in front of our fans. I’m going to let it all soak in.”
Wembanyama, who played well throughout the entire tournament, admitted that facing off against LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant forced him to dig deep into his bag of tricks.
“The final did,” Wembanyama continued. “I always try to help my team in whatever is needed. And I’m ready to make any sacrifice. And tonight it was scoring. Through these games, if the defense was too focused on me, my teammates did a good job taking their responsibilities. … They were incredible.”
While France and San Antonio both heavily depend on “Wemby,” it's clear that the young phenom will win both NBA championships and gold medals once he's surrounded by top-of-the-line talent.
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