PARIS (AP) — Someone will have a very difficult task Saturday. Someone will have to hang a medal around the neck of a man who is 7 feet 4 inches tall and still seems to be growing.
Victor Wembanyama – NBA Rookie of the Year, No. 1 draft pick and already an international phenomenon – has a new distinction. He has won an Olympic medal. The only question is whether it will be gold or silver. That will be decided on Saturday night in the final game of the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games.
France is heading for its second straight Olympic gold medal match after beating Germany 73-69 in the first of two semifinals on Thursday. It could be a rematch of the title match; the French lost to the United States in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago and the Americans played Serbia in the second semifinal on Thursday.
Wembanyama was just a kid then, a 17-year-old just emerging as an NBA talent. Now he’s a bigger kid, a 20-year-old who’s already a national hero – not to mention in San Antonio, where he’s tasked with leading the Spurs back into the spotlight – and on Saturday night, his star could rise even higher.
His final numbers on Thursday, in front of San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and team president RC Buford: 11 points, seven rebounds on just 4 of 17 shooting. The numbers didn’t look great, but his impact went far beyond what was on the stat sheet.
In the middle of the third quarter, German guard Dennis Schröder overtook Wembanyama on his way to the basket. At this point, Wembanyama only had to turn around, stretch out his right arm and prevent Schröder’s shot from going off course.
In the fourth period, he caught Schröder again – this time blocking a three-point attempt. That led to a three-pointer by Frenchman Frank Ntilikina at the other end, the home team took a 10-point lead and Wembanyama clenched his fist in celebration. As Germany caught up late, Wembanyama made an incredible jump pass through the zone with the shot clock running to set up Guerschon Yabuschele for a pair of free throws that extended the lead back to 69-60 with 4:00 minutes left.
And France held on. Wembanyama’s free throw with 10.9 seconds left made the game 71-68, Germany didn’t get another chance to equalize or take the lead, and that was it.
France has already achieved something rare: home advantage does not normally play a major role in men’s basketball at the Olympic Games.
The French are only the third team to compete for Olympic gold in men’s basketball on home soil, after the United States did so in 1984 in Los Angeles and 1996 in Atlanta, winning both times.
The USA (gold medalists in 1984 and 1996) and the Soviet Union in Moscow 1980 (bronze) have so far been the only teams to win a medal of any color in domestic men’s basketball. France will join that list on Saturday with a gold or silver medal.
In recent times, most Olympic hosts have not come close to a medal: Japan finished 11th in Tokyo three years ago, Brazil finished ninth in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Britain ninth in London in 2012, China eighth in Beijing in 2008, Spain ninth in Barcelona in 1992 and South Korea ninth in Seoul in 1988. (Exceptions in those years were the United States’ victory in 1996, Australia’s fourth-place finish in Sydney in 2000 and Greece’s fifth-place finish in Athens in 2004.)
Of course, these teams did not have Wembanyama.
He was considered France’s hope for these games, having been a clear favorite for Rookie of the Year, a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year and a frequent All-NBA nominee in his first NBA year in San Antonio.
He was great at these Olympics – and now has the chance to win gold.
