Manu Ginobili remains the only non-American player ever to lead an international team to an Olympic gold medal while competing against a version of Team USA that featured NBA players, but Victor Wembanyama came very, very close to matching that feat on Saturday. Team USA ultimately defeated France 98-87 to secure its fifth-straight gold medal, but Wembanyama’s 26-point, seven-rebound performance kept France in the game late. The American lead was as low as three points with 2:58 remaining, but a barrage of Stephen Curry 3-pointers secured victory and gold for Team USA.
The competitiveness of the game, and its result, still felt somewhat fitting. Curry is 36. Tournament MVP LeBron James is 39. This was still their time. The 20-year-old Wembanyama still isn’t quite where he needs to be in order to win gold for France. But he’s not far away, either, and he confirmed that with a quote to Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News. “I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years,” Wembanyama said. When Finger asked if he meant in the NBA or FIBA, Wembanyama coldly replied “everywhere.”
When the 2028 Olympics roll around, Curry, James and Kevin Durant will likely have retired from international competition. Wembanyama will be four years closer to his prime. So will young French players like Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Alex Sarr, who went No. 2, and Nolan Traore, an expected lottery pick in 2025. The French national team is ascending and figures to be among the biggest threats to Team USA moving forward, and all of that starts with Wembanyama, who may have been the best player in the gold medal game and could even be the best player in the entire 2028 Olympic field.
For now, Wembanyama returns to San Antonio, where the Spurs are expected to take a leap this offseason after adding players like Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes and No. 4 pick Stephon Castle. He may have missed out on gold for France, but getting the Spurs back into the postseason is a more attainable goal for the reigning Rookie of the Year. He has four years to wait for his next shot at Team USA on the Olympic court, but for now, he can still punish American players at the NBA level as soon as October.