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.
Team USA has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they will face Brazil for the gold medal. LeBron James is keeping a close eye on all challengers, including Brazil and maybe France.

According to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, James was “not very impressed” with Victor Wembanyama and France after their 85-71 loss to Germany in group play at the Paris Olympics.

He mentioned Canada and Germany as strong opponents that the US must prepare for in the tournament’s knockout rounds, adding that France struggled with the physical element 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.”

Wembanyama had 12 rebounds that game, but the French were outrebounded 36-29. In addition, France gave up 52 points to Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder. Vincent Collet, France’s head coach since 2009, was candid about 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 result was another setback for the French squad, which has struggled throughout the Olympics. Prior to their defeat by Germany, France nearly avoided losing to Japan. Wembanyama and the French team appeared mediocre in their previous match against Brazil.

Although they do not have a full roster of NBA stars like Team USA, France does have numerous NBA players. The club boasts a talented lineup including Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and Bilal Coulibaly. Despite these assets, the host nation’s team has yet to gel, raising doubts about their chances of winning a medal.