France basketball star Victor Wembanyama described Saturday’s Olympic final in Paris as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to win gold on home soil.
The French team returned to the final for the second consecutive Olympics after defeating Germany 73-69 on Thursday. They will face either the United States or Serbia for the title.
Historically, France has never won Olympic gold in basketball, having settled for silver in 1948, 2000, and at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Games. Now, with Wembanyama playing a pivotal role, they stand just 40 minutes away from potentially securing the coveted crown.
“It’s a chance to write history even more,” said the 20-year-old Wembanyama, last year’s top pick in the NBA draft.
The San Antonio Spurs center had an impressive debut season, winning the rookie of the year award. However, his focus is now on leading France to Olympic glory in Paris.
“Of course, (it’s) some part of a dream come true. Big part of a goal we set ourselves months back,” he said. “Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime goal. Maybe nobody can reproduce that, so we have got to take our chance.”
France has produced the first player taken in each of the past two NBA drafts, with Zaccharie Risacher going to the Atlanta Hawks in June and Alex Sarr selected second by the Washington Wizards.
The French team has enjoyed tremendous support from fans in both Lille, for the group stage, and Paris, which Wembanyama said has been deeply moving.
“Incredible, incredible moment. The fans made it hard for me not to cry,” he said after scoring 11 points in the win over Germany. “I thank them for being as they are and for enjoying it as much as they do – this chance, this thing that we’re all living.”
“The national team, this jersey brings to us that different energy we can’t find anywhere else, and we can see it, how intense we’ve been the last two games. It’s something that we all feel.”