With a star-studded roster of NBA MVPs, champions and All-Stars, Team USA defeated France 98-87 in the men’s Olympic basketball final on Saturday to claim its fifth consecutive gold medal. However, France’s Victor Wembanyama put the Americans on notice, signaling that Team USA’s Olympic dominance may soon face a serious challenge.
Once again, France settled for second place, earning its second consecutive and fourth Olympic silver medal as Team USA denied France a basketball gold medal on home soil. But, the French national team, as a rapidly ascending program, has the opportunity to inflict ultimate revenge at the Los Angeles 2028 Games with Wembanyama poised to lead the charge.
Wembanyama, draped in his silver medal, told Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News: ‘I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years.’
When Finger asked whether he was referring to NBA or FIBA opponents, Wembanyama, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, simply replied ‘everywhere.’
Although Team USA ultimately beat France by a double-digit margin thanks in part to Steph Curry’s eight made 3s, France repeatedly chipped away at the American lead throughout the game, reaching just a three-point deficit with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter.
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At just 20 years old, Wembanyama recorded an impressive 26 points, seven rebounds and two assists against basketball’s all-time greats, including Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. In four years, Wembanyama will be closer to the height of his career and an even greater threat to Team USA’s reign of dominance. Since NBA players started competing in the Olympic Games in 1992, the Americans have lost gold only once – in Athens 2004.
The French national team boasts no shortage of talented young stars. Alongside Wembanyama, the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year and the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, rising stars Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, the No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the 2024 NBA draft, are expected to make a significant impact in 2028.
It’s safe to say a French-American basketball rivalry is alive and well.
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