LeBron James Does Not Hold Back Criticism of Recent Victor Wembanyama, France Performance

As Team USA advances to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, they are set to commence their quest for the gold medal against Brazil. Meanwhile, LeBron James is vigilant, monitoring all competitors, not just Brazil, except perhaps France.

James expressed that he was "not very impressed" with Victor Wembanyama and France following their 85-71 defeat by Germany in the pool play at the Paris Olympics, as reported by Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.

He identified Canada and Germany as formidable opponents that the United States must prepare for in the knockout stages of the tournament, noting that France had difficulty with the physical nature of the game against Germany.

“I wasn't very impressed with their last game,” James said. “I didn't think they were ready for the physicality of Germany. Other than that, they were playing some good ball.”

France finished with a 2-1 record in Group B, suffering their only defeat to Germany on Aug. 2. In that game, only three French players managed to score in double digits, with the NBA's reigning Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, leading with 14 points.

Wembanyama grabbed 12 rebounds in that matchup, but the French were outrebounded 36-29. Additionally, France gave up 52 points combined to Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder. Vincent Collet, who has been at the helm as France's head coach since 2009, didn't mince words on evaluating his star player's performance.

“He stopped the ball too much,” Collet said. “Against that kind of aggressiveness, you can’t play that way. You are never 1-on-1 because they come to double-team, and there’s no space to operate. It’s important to move the ball.”

The defeat was another setback for a French team that has been underperforming throughout the Olympics. Prior to their defeat by Germany, France narrowly escaped a loss to Japan. Even earlier, Wembanyama and the French team appeared ordinary against Brazil.

Although they lack a complete lineup of NBA stars like Team USA, France boasts several NBA players. With the likes of Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and Bilal Coulibaly, the team is not short on talent. Yet, despite these assets, the host nation's team has not gelled, raising concerns about their prospects for a medal.

Related: Draymond Green Names Anthony Edwards as Go-To Option for Team USA