Victor Wembanyama showed the NBA that all the hype surrounding his potential was absolutely justified during the 2023-24 season. Now he gets to show it to the world. Wembanyama is making his Olympic debut for France in the Paris Games, joining an already talented squad featuring multitime NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, among others.
On Saturday, France had its first group stage contest against Brazil. Wembanyama appeared on the court extra early for his warm-ups and decided to put on a show for the crowd already at the arena. The 7-foot-4 budding star hit a halfcourt shot, eliciting great cheers from the fans, and then pulled out a between-the-legs dunk that really got everyone going.
Here's video of the highlight reel-worthy pregame show, via Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News.
Victor Wembanyama just took the court an hour before his Olympic debut, and you’ll want to watch this until the end. pic.twitter.com/A5lC8KmN1V
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) July 27, 2024
Ok, fine, watch this one until the end, too. pic.twitter.com/SalsY00Ta4
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) July 27, 2024
It is very cool that Wembanyama, one of the most hyped international players of all time, gets a chance to debut in the Olympics in front of his home crowd. The fans would react like this for basic layups, much less the mind-boggling basketball acts Wembanyama can pull off. And with a quality roster surrounding Wemby it wouldn't be surprised to see the French competing for a medal down the road— which means the crowd will be even more hyped.
It's shaping up to be a fun few weeks in Paris for Wembanyama.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans in Paris Go Wild for Victor Wembanyama's Electric Pregame Show Ahead of Olympic Debut.
