France men's Olympic basketball schedule: How to watch Victor Wembanyama in the Paris 2024 Games

Olympic basketball is set to begin on Saturday, July 27, and several teams feel they have a legitimate shot at the gold medal. Team France, led by Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, is one of those teams, despite a rough showing in exhibition games in which they went 2-4. Former San Antonio Spurs point guard Nando De Colo is a starter on the team, giving fans someone else on the team to root for other than Wemby.

Team France basketball overview

Team France has never won a gold medal in basketball in the history of the sport. They have placed silver three times, the first being in 1948; the subsequent silver medal awards would be won in 2000 and 2020. All three opportunities for the gold were thwarted by none other than Team USA.

The team is led by Coach Vincent Collet, and they have very talented players like Guerschon Yabusele, Bilal Coulibaly and Matthew Strazel, who can all put points on the board. They also have several NBA veterans on the team like Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier. Team France has a balanced roster of young talent and veteran leadership.

Bookmark this page for updates on their quest to climb the mountain and how to watch the games.

Team France Men's Basketball schedule

How to watch the games

Broadcast channels

To watch CNBC or E!, you will need a cable/satellite service. Some options are Sling TV ($57), YouTube TV ($73), and Hulu with Live TV ($77).

Streaming platforms

For streaming, fans can look to Peacock to catch all the Olympic action. A Peacock subscription will cost you $8 per month, and it is the only streaming platform with the rights to the Olympic Games.

Online Viewing

If you prefer to stick to your browser, you can visit NBCOlympics.com to watch live streams of the events throughout the tournament.

Out-of-the-country options

Australia - Channel 9 or Stan Sport
Canada - CBC Gem
UK - BBC

Team France keys to victory

It must start with defense for Team France. While they have capable scorers at the guard position, they don't have the type of dynamic athlete that strikes fear in their opponents. They'll need to feature Victor Wembanyama as much as possible—he'll be the most consistent matchup problem they can use to their advantage.

Wembanyama is still only 20 years old, so they'll need a second scorer who can reliably take pressure off of Wemby and make defenses pay for loading up on him. But it will all be for nothing if they don't defend the three. Vic and Rudy Gobert will make things extremely difficult for drivers, so their perimeter defense will be imperative.

Based on their exhibition games, their own three-point shooting comes and goes, so they can't afford to allow their opponent to get hot from distance. Wemby is talented enough to lead this team far, but they have to play disciplined basketball, and they can't have lapses in focus.

Olympic Tournament format

There are two phases for basketball in the Paris Olympics: the group phase and the knockout phase. The group phase is first and consists of the 12 teams that qualified to make the tournament. Teams will be divided into three groups of four and those teams will play the others in their group one time. Wins count for two points, while losses count for one and a loss by forfeit will net zero points.

The two teams at the top of each group and the two best third-place teams will advance to the quarterfinals of the knockout phase.

The knockout phase begins with a random draw for the eight remaining teams while ensuring the two highest-ranked teams are on opposite sides of the bracket. The tournament becomes single-elimination at this point, and classic tournament rules come into play until a gold medal winner is declared.