LYON (France) - French basketball hero Nando De Colo is looking forward to competing with the national team again at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, which is just four months away.

One of his country's most important players for more than a decade, the top scorer in European club Competitions history, De Colo took a break from international basketball after leading his country to the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

USA Gregg Popovich had warm words after the Gold Medal Game for De Colo, his former San Antonio Spurs player 

"I needed to spend time with my family and then to see something else," De Colo said to Betlic Elite's Le Rebond.

But now he hopes to be back and is more ambitious than ever.

"It is always a pleasure and today, yeah, the fact of being able to be with the French team in the summer of 2023 and 2024 is quite an objective and then to get the best result, that is to say to be world champion..."

When the time comes, De Colo will be a leader on this team. At the 2019 World Cup, he averaged 16.5 points per game and helped Le Bleus reach the podium. In the Third-Place Game triumph over Australia, he had 19 points.

While spending this season playing for ASVEL in the French top flight, De Colo was able to observe the rise of Victor Wembanyama, the 19-year-old Boulogne-Levallois star who is expected to be the first pick in this summer's NBA Draft.

Wembanyama played in four World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers games and averaged 19.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. French fans are hopeful the 2.21M ( 7’3”) big man will be with the team at the World Cup, which tips off on August 25 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

"He seems to be a rather serene guy that has his head on his shoulders," De Colo said. "I think I'll have more of a chance to know him this summer if he comes with us (to the World Cup)."

Wembanyama plays the game above the rim and has been a perfect fit with the France national team

De Colo was encouraged not just by Wembanyama's participation in the European Qualifiers but by numerous players that look to have bright futures with the national team.

"It's cool we could see during the windows that there are super motivated guys there to represent the [national team] colors, even if it's only for short periods, and that's what's important," he said.

There has been speculation that Joel Embiid, a leading contender for the NBA's MVP award, could play for France after being granted citizenship and receiving a passport.

The Philadelphia 76ers star was also recently granted USA citizenship.

There has been no comment from Embiid regarding international basketball or the World Cup.

"IT'S COOL WE COULD SEE DURING THE WINDOWS THAT THERE ARE SUPER MOTIVATED GUYS  THERE TO REPRESENT THE COLORS."

"At some point you have to be motivated and then you have to make choices," De Colo said. "I have the impression that it's starting to take a little too much time, getting the French passport and then the American then he (must) make a choice."

France have so much depth that they will have a strong frontcourt no matter who shows up.

"We have more and more big guys who are in the team so it's going to be interesting to see all that we can achieve first in attack, but also defensively," De Colo said. "That's where it's going to be interesting to see what Vincent [Collet] we can put in place."

FIBA