Having entered a new dimension since his exploits in Las Vegas at the beginning of October, Victor Wembanyama has taken an additional step in recent days by discovering the universe of the France A team through his first two selections in Blue. Successful beginnings both individually and collectively, which obviously bring hope for the future.
Victor Wembanyama was there, with his teammate Yoan Makoundou, beating on the drum to lead the clapping of the French supporters after the great victory against Bosnia yesterday, synonymous with qualification for the 2023 World Cup. A beautiful moment of communion between Wemby and the French public, a moment when all eyes were on him and during which he lit up the faces of the fans present inside the Palais des Sports in Pau.
So that’s how Victor’s very first meeting with the France A team ended. It’s hard to make a more symbolic image.
March to the beat of your own drum ????#FIBAWC x #WinForFrance pic.twitter.com/zOqc8c1K6n
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) November 15, 2022
Embarked on an unprecedented media hype for a French player and considered by US experts as the best prospect in the history of basketball, Victor Wembanyama was obviously at the center of attention during this new window of qualifying matches for the next Cup. of the world. Some enter the French team on tiptoe, others are more or less expected, and then there is Wemby, this generational phenomenon that we were all eager to see in Blue for the first time. With the absence of big names like Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert who are currently in the middle of the NBA season, the light was all the more on Victor, necessarily aware of the palpable excitement surrounding his first steps.
And it did not disappoint.
20 points – 9 rebounds in Lithuanian soil Friday for his very first selection. 19 points – 4 rebounds – 2 blocks – 2 steals for his first in France with the A against Bosnia. Two wins at the end. A qualification for the World Cup in the pocket. In short, it could hardly have gone better, even if he wanted to “put 40” yesterday against the Bosnians in his own words. In the field, he took pleasure in releasing some actions coming straight from the planet Wemby, but it is above all the experience in its entirety that Victor wants to retain. The automatisms and the affinities that he was able to build with the group, the atmosphere of the Palais des Sports de Pau, the pride of wearing the blue jersey… so many elements that reinforce the phenomenon in its desire to do great things. with the French team.
“It gave me a lot of hope. I didn’t know the France A team at all. I saw the professionalism both on and off the pitch. I tell myself that there are so many great things to do. French basketball is far from having achieved its best titles and its best goals. »
– Victor Wembanyama au micro de BeIN Sportson his first experience in Blue
An unforgettable first experience for Wemby, and a necessarily memorable first experience for those like us who follow his development as well as for all the players in French basketball. Seeing Victor Wembanyama shine with the Blues at just 18 years old, with a World Cup coming up in a few months and especially the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in our sights, can only put stars in our eyes. Victor said it himself a few days ago before his first selection, he wants to help the EDF to climb as high as possible to bring a new title after that of European Champion 2013, and at the same time avenge past failures. If there is one who seems to be able to meet these challenges, it is him.
We do not know today how Wembanyama’s career will unfold, or if Victor will be able to meet the enormous expectations placed on him. Talent and potential are not enough to make a very great career, and even if there is no doubt that Wemby has everything it takes both in his hands and in his head to maximize his enormous qualities, other factors beyond his control will necessarily dictate his future as well. But what we do know, however, is that there is already a Wembanyama effect with the Blues and that his mere presence brings a different energy. The energy of hope. The energy that accompanies ambition. The energy we feel when we give ourselves the right to dream.
And maybe 15 or 20 years from now, we’ll look back and remember that experience as a turning point on so many levels.