After losing the gold medal game against Team USA, Victor Wembanyama made a strong statement to the media.
Victor Wembanyama: “I worry for the opponents in the next couple of years”
What Wembanyama’s latest quote reveals about the Spurs star.
After losing the gold medal game against Team USA, Victor Wembanyama made a strong statement to the media. “I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in the next couple of years,” he said to SAEN columnist Mike Finger. When Finger asked if he meant FIBA opponents or the NBA, Victor said “everywhere.”
How likely do you think it is for Victor to become the best player in the world in the next couple of years?
Jacob Douglas: The Spurs beat bias is showing here, but I think he’s probably the favorite now. The NBA is loaded with young stars like Anthony Edwards and Luke Doncic (still only 25 somehow.) Still, Wembanyama has risen faster than even them to become an immediate superstar in the league. His rocket trajectory will put him past the competition soon.
He’s already the most impactful defender in the league. His jump shot looked better in the Olympics. He’s seeing the floor well as a passer. All he needs to improve is more experience and time to build strength against physical defenses. The tools are all there, and everything he’s said and done thus far indicates he has the mentality of a winner. His combination of size, skill and mental fortitude are the staples of the NBA’s best.
Jesus Gomez: There’s a good chance he’ll be up there. Injuries are the only thing that can derail his career. He’s too talented and physically gifted to be anything less than a perennial top-5 player in the league once the jumper becomes more consistent and the silly turnovers stop. Whether he’ll be the consensus top dog will depend on how well the other young stars in the league develop and how quickly the MVP-caliber players currently around decline. Right now, it seems like a two-way race between Wemby and Anthony Edwards for the crown by 2028.
J.R. Wilco: It’s telling that the only part of that question that causes me to pause in the slightest is “next couple of years” — and I am ALWAYS hedging when answering this kind of question. But this is how I feel: it’s not a question of if but when, and that’s kind of nuts. He has all of the talent necessary, he’s a sponge for knowledge/strategy/skills, and he’s so incredibly dedicated that he keeps himself to his bedtime regardless of who wants to hang out with him. If there’s anyone who’s a good bet to fulfill all of their potential, it’s the guy who’s dedicated to that level — and Wemby has all the talent in the world. So my answer is, very likely.
France did a decent job against Team USA but came up short. Can Victor in his prime in 2028 get them over the hump?
Douglas: Basketball is a team sport. Wembanyama led all scorers in the gold medal game, but France didn’t have the juice to defeat a loaded Team USA. He’s going to need a lot of help in 2028 because it doesn’t seem like the U.S. is going to be lacking future talent with young players like Edwards, Booker and Banchero waiting in the wings. Luckily, France has a lot of young talent around the league, too. Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher could all develop into nice players. Nolan Traore, the floor general from the 2025 NBA Draft class looks like a stud. A prime Wemby plus some developing young players could put France in a position to play Team USA close in Los Angeles.
Gomez: In the past 10 years France’s basketball pipeline has produced a ridiculous amount of talent. There seem to be more NBA-caliber players coming, with Nolan Traore projected to be the guard the 2024 Olympic team was missing. It will depend on the development of guys like Risacher, Sarr, Coulibaly and others, but I believe it’s realistic to see both France and Canada as serious threats to Team USA’s dominance. The US is forever going to be the biggest superpower at the international level, but a few teams have superstars of their own now as well as quality depth. France seems like the one with the best future, with Wemby leading the way, so I can see another USA-France gold medal game in 2028.
Wilco: There’s an argument to make that without the 4th quarter Curry Flurry in the gold medal game, that France was in a position for Victor to get France over the hump in 2024. Sure, Durant or James might have stepped up if Curry hadn’t, but my point is that even short of his final form and with a roster that was lacking in top tier talent, France was three points and the Hot Hand moment from taking it to the wire. That’s as close as you can ask for in a game in which anything can happen. Can Wemby get his national team over the hump? I wouldn’t bet against it.
Wembanyama has made confident statements like this before but has never been described as arrogant. Why do you think that is?
Douglas: I have often thought Wemby’s quotes tip-toe the line of arrogance. His eagerness to lean into the “alien” nickname is either a stroke of marketing genius or a sign of a player assured of his greatness. Then I hear a quote of him talking about the universe dictating his destiny and think… maybe he is just a really down-to-earth guy who believes in himself. It’s hard to describe, but he delivers these statements in such a matter-of-fact way as if there truly was no other answer to the question.
Gomez: His tone helps a lot. He says things that would get others in trouble in such a calm way that often it’s not until after you read the transcript that you realize that what he said was spicy. He has also backed up his words so far. Eventually, the scrutiny on Wemby will increase, especially if he doesn’t find success at the team level, and his confident statements might come back to haunt him, but he’s media-trained and self-aware about his image, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he changes how he speaks to reporters if he needs to.
Wilco: The way he delivers his quotes and his tone are indeed very important (thanks, Jacob and Jeje) and I think there’s a bit more. Wemby speaks so eloquently about how it’s his responsibility to live up to and fully realize his talent, that I think anyone who is usually ready to torch self-aggrandizing statements is neutralized because taking something Wemby says in the context of EVERYTHING he says, reveals him to be not someone trying to convince everyone of his greatness, but a man talking about how greatness is his goal. Chest-thumping may always be off-putting to some, but it’s hard to criticize a player who’s so straight-faced about what he’s trying to achieve. Also, I think he’s helped by the fact that LeBron blazed this trail about 20 years ago with his “global icon” goal that he went out and made good on.
