After back-to-back Olympic silver medals, both times narrowly losing to Team USA, France’s national team is slowly undergoing a generational shift. The face of the team for years to come will be Victor Wembanyama. Rudy Gobert remains the lone representative of the old guard, and he’s still performing at a solid level. This duo could form one of the best defensive frontcourts FIBA competition has ever seen.
The four-time DPOY and likely future MVP lost key veterans this summer as Nicolas Batum and Nando De Colo have retired from the national team, while Evan Fournier, though past his prime, is still capable of producing significant numbers. The growth of French basketball since the Tony Parker and Boris Diaw era is best illustrated by the fact that in the 2023 and 2024 NBA Drafts, France had five players selected in the top 10.
In Wemby’s class was Bilal Coulibaly, who had an excellent season with the Washington Wizards, averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, standing out with his energy all over the court. In the 2024 draft class, Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr were picked first and second overall, while Tidjane Salaun also made his way into the top 10.
Yabusele offered his take on dethroning Team USA
The new wave of French basketball is building on those two silver medals and seems intent on entering the conversation about dethroning Team USA. Current France NT captain and the New York Knicks power forward Guerschon Yabusele offered his take in an exclusive interview with Basketball Network.
“I think it’s a great question and will be a great conversation at another time because right now we’re really focusing on what’s going to happen this summer. You know, we don’t want to get surprised. I remember a couple years ago when we were going to the World Cup, we were really thinking about the Olympics and then the year after that you see what happens.”
“So, I really think we need to focus on this year, then the World Cup and then think about the Olympics in 2028. We need to confirm a couple of tournaments before that, we need to win and then when the time comes, we will be able to compare ourselves,” Yabusele said.
Team USA could find themselves in serious trouble
Yabusele is one of the few players on this year’s EuroBasket roster born before 2000. After a strong season with the Philadelphia 76ers, he was signed by the New York Knicks. Alongside him, France has a deep group of big men, though several will miss this EuroBasket due to injury. In addition to Wemby and Gobert, Mathias Lessort, Vincent Poirier, Moustapha Fall and Neal Sako will not be available.
This incredible frontcourt depth is especially potent considering it’s where Team USA is currently shorthanded. So thin, in fact, that Grant Hill had to step in and practically “steal” Joel Embiid from France at the last minute to address their chronic issues at the center position. But by 2028, Embiid and Anthony Davis will be 35+ years old and both are known for their injury issues, as are Zion Williamson and Chet Holmgren, who are seen as Team USA’s next big hopes in the paint.
Add to that the age of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, all unlikely to be active for the L.A. Olympics, and Team USA could find themselves in serious trouble. Even though a new generation of U.S. stars is emerging, most of the U.S. top players are over 30.
Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards are expected to be the leaders in 2028, but so far, they haven’t shown much at FIBA competitions. Last year in Paris, Team USA came practically at full strength and still barely scraped by Serbia and France in the knockout rounds.
Young stars watched quietly as the Big Three turned a -13 deficit into a win over Serbia in the fourth quarter by scoring the final 14 points. Steph needed to go off for 36 and LeBron had to notch a triple-double just to survive the finish. When France came within three points in the final quarter of the gold medal game, Curry once again saved the day with four ridiculous threes in the last three minutes.
The world has never been closer to catching up with Team USA
The general consensus was that without the veteran trio, they would have lost both games. You get the point, the rest of the world is catching up fast. Serbia remains strong with Nikola Jokic, Canada boasts a full NBA roster led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo, Slovenia has Luka Doncic, reigning world champs Germany feature Franz Wagner, Turkey has rising star Alperen Sengun, Lithuania brings Domantas Sabonis, the Dominican Republic features Karl-Anthony Towns and Australia has Josh Giddey — not to mention always-dangerous teams like Spain.
Every one of those teams has at least one superstar capable of taking over a game. And teams like France, Serbia and Canada also bring depth with high-level NBA and EuroLeague talent as they’ve already proven at the last two FIBA tournaments that they belong and won’t go down without a fight.
Team USA’s chronic issue remains a lack of big men who can compete with players like Wembanyama or Jokic, and so far, the younger generation doesn’t seem ready to reach the level of the old guard. Richard Jefferson is just one of many analysts who disclosed why Team USA might not win gold in L.A. in 2028.
“We had to steal Joel Embiid from France to make sure they didn’t have him. His contribution was limited,” Jefferson said. “Are you taking the U.S. or are you taking the field? America does not have dominant big guys. That’s the thing they have to figure out in the next three years – how to replace Embiid. You’re adding three more years to Anthony Davis before that summer.”
The talking will need to be done on the court
As for France, with 14 players currently on NBA rosters, they trail only the U.S. and Canada, that speaks for itself. Add to that a number of former NBA players like Theo Maledon, Frank Ntilikina, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and the talent pool is staggering.
Of course, most of these young guys still need to prove themselves; it all looks great on paper, but the talking will need to be done on the court. Also, after 15 years at the helm, longtime coach Vincent Collet, who led the team to eight medals in that span, has stepped down. His replacement, Frederic Fauthoux, has big shoes to fill.
However, with a new generation full of promise and a mix of experience and youth, France really is forming a squad with terrifying potential. So much so that even Team USA might not be able to sleep peacefully. Not while Wembanyama is just entering his prime.