France defeated Slovenia 92-67 in a 2027 Basketball World Cup qualifier at Bercy on Thursday as Victor Wembanyama returned to national team play.
Playing his first official game for France since the 2024 Paris Olympic final against Team USA two years ago, Wembanyama scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 21 minutes of action as the newly appointed team captain.
The French national team dominated the contest at the Accor Arena in Paris, building leads of 30 points or more on several occasions before finishing with a 25-point margin of victory in the opening fixture of the second qualification phase.
Slovenia played without star guard Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks playmaker who opted out of the fixture to prepare for the upcoming NBA season in North America. The loss marked Slovenia's fourth defeat in seven qualification matches, placing their qualification standing for the 2027 tournament under growing pressure.
Despite heavy downpours hitting the Paris area two hours before tip-off, French supporters filled the Bercy venue to greet Wembanyama and the national side for their return to the arena where they earned Olympic silver in August 2024.
Three point shooting and frontcourt rotation
France struggled from long distance throughout the night, connecting on only 7 of their 34 three-point attempts for a 20 percent conversion rate. Slovenia capitalized on the late shooting slump to limit the final deficit during the fourth quarter.
The perimeter struggles continued a trend established in recent exhibition games against Serbia, where France shot 9 for 32 and 9 for 28 from three-point range against a team featuring Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
French head coach Frédéric Fauthoux utilized the game to test a tall frontcourt combination pairing Wembanyama with Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. The French squad also featured veterans and perimeter contributors including Evan Fournier, Sylvain Francisco, Matthew Strazel, and Terry Tarpey.
Fauthoux deployed the 2.24-meter Wembanyama alongside Gobert at the start of both the second and fourth quarters, logging roughly 10 minutes of shared court time across the match.
Wembanyama and Fauthoux on team progress
Speaking to journalists in the mixed zone after the match, Wembanyama said it was his intention and responsibility as team captain to initiate an aggressive tempo from the opening whistle. He added with a smile that the entire squad responded, noting that performance levels remained steady across all rotations even while playing three centers.
Addressing his chemistry with Gobert, Wembanyama said the partnership was moving in the expected direction and expressed his desire to share the floor with the veteran center for years to come as a step forward in their development.
Fauthoux confirmed in his post-game press conference that playing Wembanyama and Gobert together was a tactical choice designed to exploit Slovenia's weaker interior defense. He stated that the coaching staff plans to take advantage of every opportunity to refine the high-low combination.
Final summer game in Sweden
France will conclude their summer series on Saturday with a road match against Sweden before NBA players return to their respective clubs for pre-season training camps.
Fauthoux noted that Saturday's game represents the final chance to work with the full squad before the upcoming FIBA international qualification windows in November and February, which will take place without active NBA players.
