The New France: Why the Absence of Wemby and Gobert Is a Quiet Revolution

The Ghosts That Didn’t Show Up

I sat with my tea this morning as the official list dropped—no Victor Wembanyama, no Rudy Gobert. Not even a mention in the senior roles. It felt… strange. Like walking into an old café where your favourite barista has vanished without notice.

For years, those two names were anchors—Wembanyama’s otherworldly frame, Gobert’s defensive fortress. Now they’re gone from the frame.

But here’s what struck me: silence isn’t emptiness. Sometimes it’s permission.

The Rise of the Unknown

In their place? A wave of young faces: Diabaté, Coulibaly, Dion, Sarr—their names still unfamiliar to many outside France but already echoing through gymnasiums in Lyon and Marseille.

These are not just talents; they’re symbols of something deeper: a reclamation of space for players who don’t fit into traditional blueprints.

No longer must you be tall and stoic to belong on this team. You can be fast like lightning from Corsica or agile like water through gravel from Parisian suburbs.

It reminds me of my own journey—growing up in East London where football was expected but never celebrated for its poetry by my teachers or neighbours. Yet I found meaning anyway.

So why should basketball be any different?

Youth Isn’t Replacing Legacy—It’s Redefining It

This squad doesn’t feel like a transition; it feels like evolution.

to say that younger players are taking over is to miss the point entirely. Instead, this is about reimagining what French basketball looks like—not through fame or stats alone—but through identity, through narrative, through belonging.

Gobert represented discipline—a man built like stone who stood firm under pressure. Wembanyama? He was hope incarnate—elegant yet unstoppable, a kid whose every move felt like destiny unfolding in real time.

Now? We get someone who might not win awards next month—but could redefine what winning means ten years from now.

And that matters more than most people admit.

to me, it’s not about missing giants—it’s about making room for voices that haven’t been heard yet.