Victor Wembanyama named captain of France at Bercy; era begins ahead of LA28

Basketball: NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama as the new captain of France: “I’m confident in who I am”

Named captain of Les Bleus at just 22, Victor Wembanyama opens a new chapter with the France team, who face Slovenia this Thursday (27 August) at Bercy in FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifying. It’s a role he approaches without pressure, but with ambition.

The France men’s basketball team has definitively entered the Victor Wembanyama era.

Named the new captain of Les Bleus at the end of August, he takes another step in his international career after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games .

After two opening warm-up games against Serbia (an 87-90 defeat in Belgrade, a 91-90 win in Orléans), France, the Olympic silver medallists, are preparing to face Slovenia in qualifying for the 2027 FIBA World Cup .

At 22, the successor to Guerschon Yabusele and Rudy Gobert in the role of captain of Les Bleus appeared relaxed and thoughtful on Wednesday (26 August) at the pre-match press conference.

The most important thing, in his view, is not to let himself be transformed by this new responsibility.

" I’m confident in who I am, in what I can bring to a team – on the court, obviously, and in terms of philosophy ," he answered to a question from Olympics.com .

“For me, it’s a project that isn’t counted in years but in decades with the France team. It’s something that will happen over time, and it’s important not to skip steps and, every day, to be as close as possible to the person you’re meant to be. So every time I’m with this France team, I’ll try to be as close as I can to the captain I’m going to be .”

The experience of the 2026 NBA playoffs

The 2025-26 season will remain a pivotal one in Wembanyama’s career.

For the first time since his arrival in the NBA, Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs played leading roles, fighting for top spot in the Western Conference in the regular season, then reaching the NBA Finals after overpowering the defending champions, Oklahoma City.

A run that allowed him to bank experience in pressure moments, which the Frenchman will be able to share with his national team from this summer.

“It would take hours of discussion to sum up all the experience gained. To go far in the playoffs, the quality of the coaching staff and the quality of the players count for a lot, but so does the players’ willingness to sacrifice themselves and execute the strategies ,” he said.

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Frédéric Fauthoux: “I don’t want Victor to change his nature”

Unlike last summer, when France went out in the round of 16 at EuroBasket 2025, coach Frédéric Fauthoux has a squad of a completely different calibre for this international window. Wembanyama is of course back after the Paris 2024 Olympics, but Gobert and Evan Fournier are also present, both coming off excellent 2025-26 seasons. Senior players who don’t hesitate to support the French star in his new role.

“Victor is for now a captain, above all through what he represents, which is very important for the team. Then, today, in the group, he’s also very well surrounded by players like Rudy (Gobert), Evan (Fournier) and Tim (Luwawu-Cabarrot) , who have a lot of experience, and I know they talk a lot among themselves,” said coach Frédéric Fauthoux .

“For now, I don’t want Victor to change his nature because he’s captain. There are so many ways to be captain of a group but first of all he has to be himself .”

For the first time since taking charge of the France team, Fauthoux has the chance to coach and spend time with Wembanyama. Impressed by his young leader, he doesn’t hesitate to compare him to another Les Bleus legend for his attachment to the national jersey.

“Having played with Tony Parker , I knew his mentality very well when it came to joining the France team… and honestly, they have the same commitment to coming back every time they can. It’s true that the times Victor couldn’t come, it’s because he really couldn’t. He was genuinely disappointed, but he has an incredible enthusiasm at the idea of coming back to wear this France jersey .”

By installing Wembanyama as captain this summer, two years out from LA28, the France coach is laying the foundations of his team and his principles for the years to come.

“It’s important because you need a base to build a team,” he answered to a question from Olympics.com at the press conference.

“If we amuse ourselves by changing 80 per cent of the players at every gathering, it’s complicated to then rebuild a group. Unfortunately, for now, that’s what happens every time. It’s also a commitment from the players to answer the call-ups, to create a base and keep leaders in place over a long period.”

Victor Wembanyama à Bercy avant d’affronter la Slovénie, le 26 août 2026

Wembanyama “gutted” not to play against Luka Dončić

Tomorrow, it is a Slovenia deprived of its finest jewel, Luka Dončić , a six-time NBA All-Star, that will show up at Bercy. A weakened team, certainly, but one to be respected according to Wembanyama.

“You take the games as they are, the rosters as they are, and the competitive reality means that deep down, I’m a bit gutted not to be playing against Luka (Dončić). But the opportunity will come round again,” said Wembanyama with a smile.

Top of Group L with five wins in six games, France are in a good position to qualify for the 2027 World Cup. They will need to finish in one of the top three places in the group. It’s a competition that could allow Les Bleus to earn a quota place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games . But not only that in Wembanyama’s eyes – he wants to establish France at the very top of world basketball, and his ambition appears to have no limit.

" The World Cup is important because it’s an international title we’ve never had, never won, and even if we had already won it, I’d want to win it. And then because it’s qualifying for the Olympic Games ," he said.

Victor Wembanyama at the press conference, Wednesday 26 August 2026 in Paris

World Cup 2027 qualifying: France’s schedule

France – Slovenia at Bercy, Paris, 20:30

Sweden – France in Stockholm, 17:30

France – Sweden, Palais des Sports, Dijon

France – Estonia, Rhénus Sport, Strasbourg

All the European zone qualifying groups can be found on the FIBA website .

Picture by 2024 Getty Images