Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, Les Bleus Cruise Past Slovenia in FIBA Qualifying Match

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama shined in his first official FIBA contest since the 2024 Paris Olympics, leading Team France to a blowout victory over Team Slovenia.

Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; Team France centers Rudy Gobert (27) and Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrate during the first half against Germany in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama didn't need much time to make his presence felt.

Playing his first official game for the French national team since the 2024 Paris Olympics — and his first ever as its captain — the San Antonio Spurs superstar scored 22 points in 21 minutes on Thursday to lead Les Bleus past Team Slovenia, 92-67.

France now sits atop its group in the second qualifying window for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, with one more game remaining on its slate set for this weekend.

"We worked well, we took the game seriously," Wembanyama said following the game per BasketNews, translated from French. "We approached every quarter the way we needed to."

Wembanyama added nine rebounds and a block on 60 percent shooting from the field. Behind his big night, part of which was attributed to the lack of Luka Dončić, who is sitting out of Slovenia's qualifying matches citing personal reasons, France never trailed.

"When we attack the basket ... from the start of the game," Wembanyama began, "there isn't much they can do. Physically, we have qualities that they don't necessarily have."

Aug 27, 2026; Paris, France; Team France center Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrates during a game against Team Slovenia in the second qualifying window for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 at Accor Arena. | Photo via @fiba on Instagram.

The performance marked another step forward for Wembanyama after France split a pair of friendly matches against Nikola Jokić and Serbia leading into the qualifying window. Wembanyama finished with just 10 points and four rebounds in Game 1 of that series — a 90-87 loss — before responding with 18 points in a 91-90 victory two days later.

France didn't encounter the same adversity against a Slovenian squad without Dončić, but Wembanyama took it upon himself to still set the tone for his teammates.

"Who else is going to do it?" Wembanyama joked. "Who else but me has that responsibility? That was my intention, and everyone responded ... we made mistakes in the previous game that we didn't repeat today. It wasn't perfect, but it was good."

French coach Frédéric Fauthoux, who made Wembanyama France's youngest captain since Tony Parker in 2003, felt further assured in his decision.

"Victor is the leader of this team," the coach said of Wembanyama per Basket Europe, translated from French. "and like any great leader, he provided the momentum."

Wembanyama wasn't alone, however. Maxime Raynaud and Matthew Strazel each scored 13 points, while Rudy Gobert finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks. France's size remained a constant even as Fauthoux cycled through his frontcourt options.

"Regardless of the rotations, we played with three centers ... and the level never dropped," Wembanyama said. "We're showing more and more that our rotations are consistent."

France currently sits atop Group L with 13 points, while Finland, Hungary and Sweden are tied with 11 points apiece behind it. Estonia and Slovenia round out the group with 10 points; the top three teams ultimately qualify for next summer's World Cup in Qatar.

The last game on Les Bleus' second qualifying window slate will come against Sweden on the road on Sunday. Tipoff from Avicii Arena is set for 10:30 a.m. Central on Courtside 1891.