Wembanyama on Olympics: 'If we don't win gold, it will be a failure' / News - Basketnews.com

Wembanyama thinks the group with Germany, Japan, and OQT Latvia winner might be a trap. He admitted that any other medal than gold would be a disappointment for France in their home Olympic tournament.

Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports - Scanpix Credit Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports - Scanpix

Victor Wembanyama can't wait to play for the French national team in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and the only goal is to win it all.

France have been drawn into Group B together with Germany, Japan, and the winner of the Olympic Qualifiers tournament in Riga, Latvia (either Georgia, the Philippines, Latvia, Brazil, Cameroon, or Montenegro).

"We have a potential trap group, even if it seems interesting and beatable to us," Wembanyama told French media in the US, via Maxime Aubin from L'Equipe. "The United States? Playing a team in the group or the semi-finals is the same. The fact that they come in full is the best thing for me. I prefer to play the best selection of each country rather than facing only two or three of them."

In arguably the most stacked selection of basketball teams in recent memory, the Paris Olympic Basketball Tournament will feature numerous players from the NBA, including the so-called Avengers squad from Team USA.

Despite the high level of competition, Wembanyama thinks that only a gold medal will be satisfactory in a home tournament.

"If I am at the Olympics, if I have the chance to go to the Olympics, and we don't win gold, it will be a failure, I'll think we could've done better. I think our goals are within reach if we play without regrets," he said.

Wembanyama is set to form a duo with another French center, Rudy Gobert. With both of them being at least 2.16 meters tall, it might be the tallest frontcourt duo to start at the Olympics ever.

"Of course, I'm thinking about it, and I'm already talking about it with the players and those in charge of the French team. It's going to be something new and rarely seen with two profiles like that on the court at the same time," Wemby said. "The coaches and us [two] will have to do real research to see how to make this partnership work."

Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs will not make it to the NBA playoffs. As such, the French phenom's regular season is set to end pretty quickly. On the contrary, Gobert's Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the winningest teams in the league this season.

Despite the implication that Gobert might show up to the training camp later than others, Wembanyama thinks it's a good problem to have for the player.

"I'm going to rest for a few days at the end of the season, and then it will be non-stop training until the Olympics. I will be in both France and the United States, but more often in the United States. Quite simply, because of the quality of the facilities to which I have access here. And I hope Rudy joins us as late as possible, it will be a good problem," Wemby concluded.

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