With or without Victor Wembanyama at the World Cup? The question has been buzzing behind the scenes for months. Because the presence of a player in the France team the summer following his draft in the NBA is always a rare event. Expected in first place during the June 22 rout, Wembanyama will have to deal with the will of his future franchise, which will undoubtedly want to protect the player.
This did not prevent the person concerned from displaying, during his press visit to Nanterre for the gathering of the Blues for the last qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup (in the Czech Republic on Thursday, in Trélazé against Lithuania on Sunday ), to be very clear about his intentions: “I am no longer a rookie, says the one who released the blue jersey in Lithuania in November. Finally, I imagine that in the eyes of those with whom I will be with this summer, I will always be (he’s laughing). I plan to be at the World Cup. I see it as a stage, I don’t at all want to miss it. » Whichever American team picks him and how much pressure he may be under? ” I don’t know. But my will is to be there this summer. I want to learn from this World Cup to better prepare for the Olympics. »
If general manager Boris Diaw temporized – “What matters is not what he wants today, but when the decisions will have to be firm”-, he also recalled that except for a physical glitch, his future team could not prevent him from playing if he wished.
