Wemby fever: France’s 7ft 4in basketball star puts on show in opening win

Victor Wembanyama walked out to a star’s welcome for his Olympic debut, and he made sure to give France’s fans plenty to cheer about.

This was Wembanyama’s opening ceremony. No Eiffel Tower, no Céline Dion, no Zinedine Zidane or Serena Williams and no floating cauldron required. Just a 7ft 4in 20-year-old with the eyes of the basketball world on him, and he didn’t disappoint.

Wembanyama had 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots, and France opened their run at the Paris Olympics by beating Brazil 78-66 in their Group B game on Saturday before a sold-out crowd.

“I knew it was going to be something crazy [the atmosphere] but I didn’t imagine this. I’ve never experienced anything like that. So many people, with so much intensity, right from the warmup, it’s just incredible,” Wembanyama said.

Wembanyama – the NBA’s Rookie of the Year for the San Antonio Spurs last season – and his teammates skipped the opening ceremony on Friday night to rest for their Saturday game. The anticipation for Wembanyama was noticeable throughout Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille well before the game. Fans lined up on the rail of the catwalk, jockeying for positions to snap photos of the Spurs star.

He didn’t waste time providing highlights: about an hour before tipoff, he casually swished a half-court shot as he was beginning his warmups not long after he was greeted by thunderous cheers from the home crowd.

He won the tip-off against Brazil’s Bruno Caboclo to get the party started and France – who trailed by 12 early in the second quarter – eventually shook off their slow start and found their footing.

Brazil were powerless to stop Wembanyama. In his first trip down the floor, he turned and span toward the baseline, went airborne, and despite his head and body being well behind the backboard, he used his huge wingspan to lay the ball in anyway.

A couple of possessions later, he spun to the middle, going over everyone for a left-handed dunk as he tumbled to the floor. Later he unleashed a huge right-handed dunk punctuated by a scream that tied the game at 34-34.

It was still close late – Nicolas Batum’s three-pointer with 1:21 left put France up 10, and an alley-oop dunk by Wembanyama on the next possession sealed the win – but at France’s first victory is out of the way.

With Kylian Mbappé not participating in the home Games after Real Madrid refused to grant his release for the football tournament, Wembanyama has picked up the mantle as France’s global star. He might have missed the opening show on the Seine, but on Saturday he finally arrived at his home Games. And there is the promise of much more to come.

France will next face Japan, who lost on Saturday to Germany, on 30 July.