The French Men’s Basketball Team: Ready to Make a Splash in Paris

France is set to host the 2024 Paris Olympics and, as such, their men’s national basketball team does not have to go through the qualification process. However, this does not diminish their chances of winning a medal after earning silver in Tokyo. The team recently announced a 19-man preliminary roster for the upcoming Olympics, and it is loaded with talent.

Leading the roster is NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, who had an impressive season averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game. He was also a defensive force and finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie. Alongside Wembanyama is Rudy Gobert, who won DPOY award in 2021, making them formidable defensive duo that will challenge every opponent they face on court.

The French roster also includes other NBA players such as Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, Ousmane Dieng, and Killian Hayes. France has been placed in Group B for the Olympics alongside Germany, Japan and one team that will qualify through upcoming tournaments. This tournament is expected to be highly competitive with numerous NBA players representing different countries.

While the USA has stars like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry and are considered gold medal favorites; they will face tough competition from teams like Serbia led by Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Germany and France respectively. With talent and depth on French roster they are well positioned to make significant impact in international tournament