France's Victor Wembanyama was pictured crying on the sideline following his nation's narrow defeat to Team USA in the Paris Olympics men's basketball final.
Prior to an onslaught of threes from Steph Curry, Wembanyama did everything he could to keep France in the contest. He poured in 26 points on 11/19 shooting in just 30 minutes in the 98-87 defeat. The superstar for the San Antonio Spurs tipped home a missed shot to cut America's lead to three with 2:58 remaining in the contest, but France's perimeter defense was promptly shredded by Curry.
With a silver medal around his neck, he said "I'm learning, and I'm worried for the opponents in a couple of years." When asked if he meant in FIBA or the NBA, Wembanyama said "everywhere."
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"What your eyes see is what your eyes should believe," said NBC commentator and 2008 gold medalist Dwayne Wade. "[Wembanyama's] a guy you would not be able to tell just by points. You have to watch him play the game of basketball and understand what he means to his team on the floor."
The stars of Team USA flocked to a teary Wembanyama to offer commiserations to the French star. The 20-year-old proceeded to sit on the French bench with his head in a towel.
The French team dealt with a series of lineup changes throughout the tournament, namely moving reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert to the bench. Les Blues went 2-1 in the preliminary round before upsetting Canada and Germany in the elimination stage.
"Do you ever get conerned knowing this is the worst Wemby will ever be," X user IcyVert tweeted in response to Wembanyama's performance.
Curry was the star for the Americans, scoring 12 of his team's final 14 points as he remarkably splashed in four three-pointers in trademark fashion. His 24 points led Team USA.
Devin Booker , elevated to the starting lineup over Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, was an efficient 6/9 from the field to score 15 points as he continued his strong play.
This will be the last Olympics for both Steph Curry and LeBron James, potentially paving the way for Wembanyama to challenge for a gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics .
"In our national anthem, we talk about blood, too. We're willing to spill blood on the court," Wembanyama said before the final. "If it allows us to win gold, I'm all for it."
"[We have] a chance to write history. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime goal. Maybe nobody can reproduce that, so we have to take our chance." The 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year should have plenty of more chances to win Olympic gold.
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