France didn’t reach quite the same heights as Spain over the last couple decades, but they’re coming off a silver medal run at the 2024 Olympics. And the country has produced multiple top-two picks over the last few years, including Victor Wembanyama, Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher.
But Wemby didn’t play in this tournament. Rudy Gobert missed it, as well. And the other top-two picks, Risacher and Sarr, both failed to average double-figures. Bilal Coulibaly, another recent lottery selection, contributed just 6.3 points and shot 41.2 percent from the field.
The future doesn’t feel quite as dire as it does for Spain. Most of the aforementioned talent still has a lot of developmental runway. But following up that silver medal with a round-of-16 loss to Georgia is undoubtedly a disappointment.
