Victor Wembanyama returns to France's national basketball team

Paris – 19 July 2026: Victor Wembanyama has been called up to the France national basketball team for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympic final. The 22-year-old center for the San Antonio Spurs is among the 15 players selected by national coach Frederic Fauthoux for the second phase of qualification for the 2027 World Cup. The French Basketball Federation announced the squad on Saturday.

The team will gather in Orleans on 16 August. Two friendly matches against Serbia are scheduled first: on 20 August in Belgrade and on 23 August at the CO’Met Arena in Orleans. These games will serve as preparation for the following competitive fixtures and are intended to give the coaching staff an opportunity to establish roles within the newly assembled squad.

In World Cup qualifying, France will host Slovenia at the Accor Arena in Paris on 27 August. The away match in Sweden follows three days later. Both fixtures are part of the second qualifying round for the World Cup, which will be held in Qatar from 27 August to 12 September 2027. The top three teams from the group of six will advance to the final tournament.

Wembanyama missed the previous qualifying phase in July because his season with San Antonio extended into the NBA Finals. According to the federation, France enter the August games with a record of five wins and one defeat and lead Group L. The matches against Slovenia and Sweden could therefore be decisive for their further position.

The center has played 15 international matches so far, scoring 263 points. His last appearance at an international tournament with France was at the Paris 2024 Olympic basketball tournament, where the team won the silver medal. For Fauthoux, the focus is not only on immediate results, but also on integrating the NBA player into a team featuring several new players.

Alongside Wembanyama, Evan Fournier also returns to the squad. Rudy Gobert, Elie Okobo, Nadir Hifi, Matthew Strazel, Sylvain Francisco and Maxime Raynaud were also selected, among others. Zaccharie Risacher, Bilal Coulibaly and Guerschon Yabusele, however, were not called up. The official list includes players from the NBA as well as leading European leagues.

France had already reached the second qualifying phase; however, the results from the first round carry over. The August schedule therefore combines sporting preparation with immediate qualifying pressure. Wembanyama’s return gives Les Bleus greater depth under the basket ahead of the matches against Slovenia and Sweden, but does not yet guarantee success in the remaining fixtures.