Lighting a torch of sorts for the French gold-medal hopes, Wembanyama had 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots, and France opened its run at the Paris Olympics by beating Brazil 78-66 in a Group B game on Saturday before a sold-out crowd of flag-waving, song-singing, wave-doing fans who came looking for a show and got one.
“You can’t underestimate the power of the crowd, the home crowd,” Wembanyama said. “I think it’s really going to be the sixth man for this whole tournament.”