A silver-medal finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics may have been the ideal harbinger for Victor Wembanyama’s second NBA season. After his country, France, lost to Team USA in the gold-medal game on Saturday night, Wemby issued a warning to all his future opponents.
“I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years,” Wemby told reporters, via Mike Finger of San Antonio Express-News.
When asked if he was referring to his opponents in FIBA competitions or the NBA, Wemby responded, “Everywhere.”
The 20-year-old phenom scored a game-high 26 points and added seven rebounds and two assists in the 98-87 defeat to Team USA. After the loss, Wemby was overcome with emotions, bursting into tears before being consoled by his French teammates and North American foes.
For the tournament, the seven-footer averaged 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks and was named as part of the Paris 2024 All-Star five alongside MVP LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Dennis Schroder and Nikola Jokic.
Many analysts reckon the Paris Olympics experience may have prepared Wemby to elevate his game to a new level as an NBA sophomore.
While he is not a betting favorite to reach the postseason, he will have a lot more veteran experience to count on in his second season in San Antonio. This offseason, the Spurs added the likes of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes to the equation, a year after giving the rookie Wemby an unproven team without any players boasting playoff experience.
During his introductory news conference, Paul explained why he and Barnes are excited to play alongside Wemby.
“There’s no player in the league that everybody talks about more after the game,” Paul said. “Me and Harrison were on our flight talking about how cool it’s going to be at this point in our careers to get a chance to appreciate him day in and day out.”
Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and a league-high 3.6 blocks as a rookie for the Spurs. He was unanimously named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Rudy Gobert. The Frenchman also became the first rookie to be named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team.
