2023-06-26 08:53:26
One year before the Paris Olympics, Victor Wembanyama decides to skip the 2023 World Cup. The basketball prodigy, who became the first French first choice in the draft, will focus on his first year with the San Antonio Spurs. He evokes a “frustrating” but necessary choice for his health.
Published on: 06/26/2023 – 10:53
It is a “necessary sacrifice”. NBA new sensation Victor Wembanyama announced on Monday (June 26) that he would not participate in the 2023 World Cup with France, citing the need to focus on his first season with the San Antonio Spurs.
“It would not be realistic in terms of development and not prudent in terms of health,” said “Wemby”, in an interview conducted by L’Équipe in San Antonio, Texas, where the young Frenchman (19), first pick of the draft, has just put down his suitcases following a hectic week during which he received a rock-star welcome in the United States.
Read alsoVictor Wembanyama at the San Antonio Spurs: the ideal destination for the nugget of French basketball
“I hope people will understand”
The former Metropolitans 92 player considered this choice both “irrevocable” and “frustrating”, stressing that participation in the next World Cup, from August 25 to September 10 in Asia, would have meant a total of “170 matches in 24 months”, including the upcoming season and the Paris-2024 Olympic Games.
“I hope people will understand. (…) The France team is still so central. I want to win as many titles as possible with it. But I think it’s a necessary sacrifice”, added the tricolor giant (2.24 m), two days before the announcement by coach Vincent Collet of the group selected for the World Cup.
Wembanyama, who had his first selection with the Blues last November once morest Lithuania (90-65), also assured that his new franchise in the NBA had not pressured him to give up the World Cup.
He made this choice “himself”, following consulting his closest entourage, the medical staff who follow him on a daily basis, but also several executives of the France team and his coach, during a videoconference on Saturday, according to The Team.
His participation in the next World Cup had not been openly discussed in recent weeks, while media attention was entirely focused on the NBA draft.
At the end of April, Vincent Collet, who was also his coach at Boulogne-Levallois, was however optimistic, saying that the young player was, “for the moment”, “very motivated to participate”. “At this level, the news is rather very good,” he said.
With AFP
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