Victor Wembanyama’s status for FIBA qualifiers revealed ahead of 2026–27 NBA season

The basketball world will not have to wait until the start of the NBA regular season in October to see Victor Wembanyama in action again.

The French Basketball Federation announced its 15-man roster on Saturday for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying window, and Wembanyama is officially set to return to the French national team for the first time since the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 22-year-old is coming off a historic 2025–26 season in which he averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game on his way to becoming the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman also led the Spurs to a 62-win regular season and their first NBA Finals appearance since 2014, made his second All-Star appearance, earned his second All-Defensive First Team nod, and became the franchise's first All-NBA First Team selection since Kawhi Leonard in 2016–17.

Wembanyama missed EuroBasket 2025 due to a deep vein thrombosis, which forced the young superstar to miss the final 30 games of the 2024–25 NBA regular season. However, he shined in his most recent appearance for “Les Bleus,” when he averaged 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.7 combined blocks and steals (“stocks”) per game in the 2024 Summer Olympics. France ultimately fell to the United States in the gold medal game, but the then-20-year-old scored a game-high 26 points in the hard-fought loss. He was selected as the tournament’s Rising Star and was named to the All-Star Five.

France won five of its six games in the first round of the European qualifiers and will play a total of four games in the upcoming window, including two exhibition games. The 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in Qatar from August 27 to September 12, 2027.