Victor Wembanyama has rejoined the French national team for FIBA World Cup qualifiers, emphasizing that representing his country carries more significance than the NBA due to its rarity. The Spurs star is using this window to build chemistry with a new coaching staff and roster after a versatile offseason.
Credit Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix
Victor Wembanyama is back with the French national team for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the San Antonio Spurs superstar has made clear just how much representing his country means to him.
Speaking to L'Equipe's Sami Sadik ahead of France's 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying games, Wembanyama explained why wearing the national team jersey carries even greater significance for him than representing the Spurs in the NBA.
"It means more because you wear it for much shorter periods of time," Wembanyama said. "The intensity of an Olympic Games, for example, is something that happens over a matter of weeks, so everything is decided in the moment."
"There are very few games in an international career. Every one of them really matters."
Wembanyama last represented France at the Paris Olympics, helping Les Bleus capture the silver medal. Now, two years later, he is using the August window to reconnect with the national team and begin building toward the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
The 22-year-old believes the current camp is particularly valuable because both the coaching staff and roster have changed since his previous appearance.
"I wouldn't go as far as calling it crucial, but it's a very important window for me, and for many others, to get to know the coaching staff and new teammates and to lay the foundations," he said.
Wembanyama's unusual summer continues
Wembanyama's return to France comes after another unconventional offseason in which he has continued searching for different ways to develop both physically and mentally.
Since the end of the NBA season, Wembanyama has hosted Spurs teammates in France for a mini training camp in Nanterre, organized his Hoop Gambit basketball and chess event and even spent several days training alongside professional rugby players at Provence Rugby.
Despite the number of activities, Wembanyama insisted he has also tried to take time away from basketball.
"I wouldn't say I've had a busy summer, but rather a busy year," he said. "I tried to disconnect as much as I could this summer."
For Wembanyama, even experiences outside traditional basketball training can eventually contribute to his development.
"It will help me, just like all of my previous experiences have, learning from different people," he said. "The fact that my Spurs teammates came to Paris was great in terms of building chemistry for the long term."
"I can't give you one specific example, but everything I learn in life helps me."
After a summer featuring basketball, chess, rugby and team-building with his Spurs teammates, Wembanyama's attention now shifts back to international basketball - and to a France jersey he says carries a meaning unlike any other.
If you like our content, please click here and add us as your preferred source. It helps us a lot, and we are committed to delivering you the very latest basketball news.