France’s Victor Wembanyama put on a strong performance in the narrow victory over Serbia. Afterward, the NBA star spoke candidly about why his matchups with Nikola Jokic are so valuable to him.
France avenged its previous loss in Belgrade and narrowly defeated Serbia 91–90 in Orléans. In front of a home crowd, Victor Wembanyama contributed 18 points and five rebounds to France’s victory.
Unlike in their first matchup, the San Antonio Spurs star started at center this time. It was a decision with which Wembanyama felt much more comfortable:
Since the newly formed French team still needs to find its footing, it was important to start with the basics. “We’re a new team and don’t know each other that well yet,” explained the 2.24-meter-tall player. “I think we’ve taken a step forward.”
Despite It Being a Friendly: Wembanyama Sends a Clear Message
Despite the game being a friendly, the result was by no means unimportant. “We can’t take anything for granted,” Wembanyama emphasized. “It’s a preseason game, but we have to learn how to win. Today we learned a few lessons.”
Once again, the head-to-head matchups with Nikola Jokic were particularly valuable to him. “Of course, you always learn something when you play against Jokic,” said Wembanyama. “In those matchups, you always take something away and discover clever moves on the court.”
France doesn’t have much time to celebrate. “Our plan is simple,” Wembanyama explained. “We’re heading to Paris in a day or two, where we’ll continue our preparations and then play the qualifying games.”
