Olympics clunker reveals major weakness Wembanyama must address ASAP

On Friday, Team France and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama took a loss to Germany, 85-71. It was a game they were thoroughly dominated in, and it ensured their first loss of the Olympic group phase, sending them to a 2-1 record.

France will be headed to the knockout round, but with a little less confidence than before. Of course, Germany is no slouch, as they took home the title of World Champion at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but this was still a difficult way to end group play for the French national team.

During the 14-point loss, France consistently looked out of sorts and uncomfortable offensively, and that started with Victor Wembanyama. Statistically, he had one of the best performances of any French player, but the eye test says there is one big thing he needs to continue working on.

Victor ended the contest with a team-high 14 points and 12 rebounds, but he could have had even more had he done a better job of establishing his presence on the interior. Wemby routinely allowed the German big men to push him out to the perimeter, limiting his effectiveness.

Wembanyama has to establish inside dominance

Additionally, when he did find space to operate inside, Wembanyama struggled against any kind of physicality thrown against him by the German team. This is arguably the biggest thing Victor should still be working on as he sharpens his game.

Of course, at 7-foot-4, Wemby is nearly always the tallest person on the floor. Yes, he is supremely skilled and can play all over the court. But at one point or another, he will have to learn to impose his size against smaller defenders and punish opposing teams with his height.

At one point in Friday's game, Franz Wagner even pulled out a jaw-dropping dunk over Victor on a fast break. I am not asking Wemby to block every shot ever, but in this particular instance, it simply highlights the way he played down to smaller competition and did not maximize his size to his advantage.

This is something that if cleaned up, will benefit him both at the Olympics and in the NBA. We already know the kind of otherworldly potential Wembanyama has, and that ceiling can go even higher if he truly takes advantage of all that he has been gifted with.