Victor Wembayama is a cheat code.
The San Antonio Spurs star was wearing the colors of his native France at the Olympics when he proved that once again. Facing off against Brazil, he unleashed an absurd dunk that basically only a 7-foot-4 center with unreal athleticism could pull off.
Just watch and try to keep your jaw off the floor.
"Have you ever seen anything like that?"
— Josh Paredes (@Josh810) July 27, 2024
"Yes, on Space Jam." pic.twitter.com/liBAAPolfM
The broadcast team likened the effort to something out of "Space Jam" and who are we to argue. Wemby has cartoon-like arms that seemed to stretch in midair to slam that one home. He wasn't even inside the restricted area!
Seriously, spot the difference!
WEMBY REALLY DID THE SPACE JAM DUNK IN THE OLYMPICS 😱 pic.twitter.com/Q5MJQcNsfr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 27, 2024
Stretch Armstrong would be impressed. "Space Jam" universe Michael Jordan would be impressed.
Twitter collectively picked up its jaw long enough to marvel at the effort.
Wemby is the create-a-player that you initially make before saying “na lemme chill” and pull the sliders back to reality because that’s not reasonable.
— brandon / jinx / big jinx (@brandonjinx) July 27, 2024
Except he is real. And it’s still not reasonable.
Dunking on somebody when your whole body is outside of the restricted area shouldn't be humanly possible and this is the 2nd time I've seen Wemby do it. https://t.co/A6Cc9qF8HF
— 🐿️✨America Is Musty✨🐿️ (@DragonflyJonez) July 27, 2024
Wemby is like 20 years old and he gotta lead his team in the Olympics, special stuff lol
— Niko (@nikotaughtyou) July 27, 2024
By the start of the fourth quarter, Wembanyama had 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three blocks and three steals on 6-of-12 shooting.
Led by Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, the French national team is a dark horse contender in the Olympics. Team USA remains the clear favorite until proven otherwise. Canada and Serbia certainly have a chance to shake things up. However, with the young phenom getting better by the day and the home crowd behind them, it should be a fun tournament for Les Bleus.
They've been competitive on the grand stage even before Wemby's arrival. France took the silver medal at the 2020 Olympics, losing to Team USA in the gold medal game, 87-82. Gobert led the way in that tournament. He's got a more formidable running mate this time.
France tipped off Group B play on Saturday. They'll battle Japan on Tuesday and Germany on Friday with an eye on advancing to the quarterfinals. They'll have to finish in the top two of the group to get there automatically. If they are one of the two best third-place teams, they can also advance.