Even without San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, who opted out to get ready for his NBA debut, the French national team was expected to be a contender in the FIBA World Cup. However, that was far from the case.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert was awful throughout the entire tournament, and the team as a whole struggled to establish its presence on either side of the court.
That’s why Hall of Famer Tony Parker went out of his way to put his compatriots on blast, even urging Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid to join Wembanyama and the national team in the Olympics.
Tony Parker Rips France, Wants Two Stars To Replace Rudy Gobert
“There, we really experienced a fiasco,” Parker said on RMC radio. “I talked about it for a long time with Nicolas Batum, we spoke for an hour on the phone, and it’s true that it’s very, very disappointing. It’s not normal for such a team to lose in the first round. We have never seen Spain and the United States go out in the first round. And it’s a shame because our generation worked so hard to bring France back to a certain level, so that we could be respected, by FIBA, the referees, the other countries. It’s so hard to have respect. Latvia had a great match. They had some crazy shots, but it’s not normal. It’s still a bit of a shame”.
“They are going to have big choices to make,” Parker said. “If you bring back big players like Joel Embiid, and Victor, it has to be complementary with the rest, because it could mean the departure of certain cornerstones, which can make headlines. We have to improve the team, we need changes, but it’s not going to be easy.”
Parker isn’t the first former or active player who throws shade at Gobert, and he definitely won’t be the last, so it’ll be interesting to see what decisions they make ahead of the Olympics.