San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama will return to lead France in international basketball.
FIBA confirmed this weekend that the star center has been named to his home country’s 15-man roster for the upcoming 2027 World Cup qualifying window in August, with games set against Slovenia and Sweden.
Recommended Videos
This will be Wembanyama’s first stint with the French national team since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where France was a late-game surge away from knocking off the U.S. for the gold medal. Wembanyama was the leading scorer in that game and averaged 15.8 points and 9.7 rebounds across the tournament. He was just 20 years old at the time, with only one year of NBA experience.
Much has changed for Wembanyama since, including a new five-year, $252 million max contract extension he signed with the Spurs on July 10 — on the heels of leading San Antonio to a surprise run to the NBA Finals.
Frederic Fauthoux will coach the French national team in the tournament, as he’s done since September 2024. He now gets to coach the nation’s best player for the first time.
“It’s extremely important for the future of the project we want to carry out,” Fauthoux said, via FIBA. “Victor is the undisputed leader of this generation. His presence needs to become a tangible presence to create automatic plays with the others, both on the court and in their lives outside of basketball. It’s as simple as that.”
Wembanyama missed the last opportunity to represent France on the world stage in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament in 2025 as he recovered from a blood clot in his right shoulder that ended his second season with the Spurs.
The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, who stands 7 feet 4 inches tall, will again join forces with NBA veterans Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, also making their return to the French national team.
France sits atop Group L with a 5-1 record heading into the second round of World Cup qualifying. They look to be a strong contender for Qatar 2027.
Read also: