SAN ANTONIO -- Victor Wembanyama's summer of leadership continues, with the French national team announcing him as its captain Wednesday in preparation for the FIBA World Cup European qualifiers. Wembanyama was named captain of Team France a little more than two weeks after the 22-year-old hosted several San Antonio Spurs teammates in France for workouts and bonding activities. Wembanyama leads Team France into friendly competitions against Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, on Thursday and Sunday before the team hosts Slovenia on Aug. 27 in its first appearance in the European qualifiers. Team France then travels to face Sweden on Aug. 30.

"Being captain is first and foremost about setting an example, being a leader, through performance on the court, knowing the systems, the opponents and bringing calm," Wembanyama said, according to FIBA. "This window is a good opportunity to experience this new chapter with the coaching staff as a captain. It's probably earlier than I expected, and likely earlier than everyone else expected. But it's not rushed either. I'm honored and excited."

French teammate and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert captained the team, which also features Evan Fournier and Maxime Raynaud, during qualifying windows earlier this summer. Wembanyama last suited up for Team France at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Les Bleus captured a silver medal after falling to Team USA in the gold-medal game. Wembanyama averaged 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in the 2024 Olympics over a span of 179 minutes and takes the reins for Team France at a time the club is expected to seriously contend for gold medals in the 2027 World Cup next summer in Qatar as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.