PARIS (France) - France are already sharpening their focus ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers.
The intention is to include their Olympic star Victor Wembanyama on the roster next summer to play in the Qualifying Window 3 and Window 4.
The 21-year-old had his second NBA season cut short due to a deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder and did not feature in the young French side that bowed out of the EuroBasket before the Quarter-Finals. He looks fully heathy these days with the Spurs in the NBA preseason. He scored 22 points in just 16 minutes in the first half against Utah.
"Let’s be honest," said France coach Frederic Fauthoux to NBA Extra on BeIN Sports, in an interview with Jacques Monclar after the FIBA EuroBasket 2025.
We need to see Victor
"The French national team should be Victor's team in the years to come, so we need to see Victor. We're in regular contact with him — he wants to come, he's motivated and he supports the national team.
"My goal — and this is what (France national team general manager) Boris (Diaw) and I will be working on this winter — is to have him with us ideally in July 2026, or at the latest in August 2026.
Wembanyama will have NBA commitments in the first two windows but Fauthoux is looking to have him for the third window games against Belgium on July 3 and against Finland on July 6, and the fourth window in August.
"Then we’ll need to build from there. The experienced players, and those who will become team leaders over the coming seasons, will have to be present at every window. Because without that, given how strong and intense the competition is, it’s going to be a real battle — a real challenge. But we’re ready."
Experience can't be bought. I hope all these young players will continue to grow
"We’re aiming for July — August at the latest — for the NBA players we’re expecting, including Victor," the coach said. "Because the players also have things to manage on the NBA side, and it’s not always easy for us to make everything line up.
"But I think it’s potentially possible to have Victor playing for France in July. And not just him.
"This summer, we saw some young players who, in my opinion, did well — to varying degrees — like Bilal (Coulibaly), Zaccharie (Risacher) and Alexandre (Sarr). They showed some really good things. In a year or two, they’ll still only be 23 or 24 years old. And let’s not forget Evan (Fournier), Matthew Strazel, who weren’t there. We’re going to build with all of that.
"Experience can’t be bought. I hope all these young players will continue to grow."
The EuroBasket was Fauthoux's first tournament in charge of the national team. He had held the reins when the team qualified for the event as well.
France were, for the longest time, dating back to EuroBasket 2009, under the leadership of coach Vincent Collet but since the country's appearance in a second straight Olympic Final, Fauthoux has been in charge.
With international basketball as competitive as ever, France can leave nothing to chance and will be looking to gain any advantage, and that includes building as strong a team as possible for the European Qualifiers.
"Next summer, there’s going to be a lot of work on the relationship side to make sure all these players are involved in building the best possible team — work with the players and with their franchises," Fauthoux said. "But we’ve seen in the past that when players are motivated, franchises agree to release them. I hope that will still be the case."
FIBA