Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Victor Wembanyama of France during the friendly match between France and Serbia at CO'Met Arena on August 23, 2026 in Orleans, France. (Photo by Sandra Ruhaut/Icon Sport via Getty Images)
Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Victor Wembanyama of France during the friendly match between France and Serbia at CO'Met Arena on August 23, 2026 in Orleans, France. (Photo by Sandra Ruhaut/Icon Sport via Getty Images)
Victor Wembanyama and France almost choked a 20-point lead in their 91-90 win over Serbia during a FIBA World Cup Qualifier friendly. Jaylen Hoard’s last-second buzzer-beater secured the win for France after Nikola Jokic’s offensive masterclass helped Serbia bounce back in the game until 4.7 seconds were left on the clock.
The 7’5″ Spurs star ended the game with 18 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and one assist while shooting 5-11 from the field in 24 minutes of action. Both blocks came on Nikola Jokic, as he put the clamps on the three-time NBA MVP on several occasions.
The French men’s hoops team bounced back today with a dramatic 91–90 victory over Serbia in Orléans, powered by a MUCH stronger performance from Victor Wembanyama.
Wemby dropped 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks by attacking the paint and drawing fouls, holding his ground to… pic.twitter.com/bZ9mjBqtJY
— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) August 23, 2026
Earlier this month, Victor Wembanyama was named the captain of the French national team. After tonight’s game against Serbia, Victor Wembanyama spoke to the media and shared his first words to the team as their new captain.
“My words before the game were that we shouldn’t take this game lightly even though it’s a friendly game,” said Wembanyama in French. France led Serbia 54-35 at halftime. And yet, it came down to a buzzer-beater to seal this win for France.
“We need to learn how to win. It’s a new team, and today we learned several lessons, because we have a weakness when we have a 20-point lead. We also saw that we could handle having a 20-point lead and respond to it. But yeah, those were my words; we need to learn everything as much as possible from every game.”
A reporter asked if Wembanyama learns something new every time he plays Nikola Jokic.
“Yes sir, that’s it,” Wembanyama replied. “Of course you always learn when you play against Jokic. You always catch some stuff and smarter moves on the court in those duels with him.”
Wembanyama and France withstood a surging comeback from Nikola Jokic’s Serbia, just days after their 87-90 loss to them. Nikola Jokic ended this game with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists, while shooting 10-24 from the field (41.6 FG%) in 29 minutes played.
Following their last matchup, the Nuggets superstar said Victor Wembanyama has the capability to become the greatest player of all time. And even though Wembanyama feels the three-time MVP is not the best player in the NBA right now, he made sure to give him his flowers and admit that he looks up to Jokic.
France and Serbia are now in separate groups as they head into the second round of FIBA World Cup qualifiers. All eyes are now on Victor Wembanyama to see if he can turn these lessons from Jokic into wins for the French national team and, eventually, the Spurs.