Unlike Team USA, who were waving the American flag high and proud during the Seine River procession, the French National team chose to skip Friday’s opening ceremony in Paris. And that made Victor Wembanyama’s Olympics debut against Brazil even more special for millions of fans, as it was his first sighting at the prestigious event. As expected, the 20-year-old prodigy didn’t disappoint as he led the host nation to their first win with a dominant performance, after which he received a respectable title.

Sure enough, Wemby’s head coach Vincent Collet was extremely impressed, as he even bestowed him with a huge honor right after the game, “He’s obviously already our leader.” Being deemed the leader of the national team as a rookie, that too when France has experienced and world-class players like Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, and Nicolas Batum, speaks volumes about Wemby’s potential.

However, with the tag of a ‘leader’ also comes a lot of responsibility. And Collet made sure during Victor’s Olympics debut that he played to his strengths and held back a key skill to ensure France’s 78-66 victory, “For Victor, the main thing was to go inside, where he’s sure to dominate every time. If he plays too much on the perimeter, he’s like any other player: Some nights you make the shots, and some nights you don’t.”

While Wemby often showed during his rookie NBA year that he can shoot the ball at a high clip, what separates him from every player in the world is his interior dominance. Sticking to his coach’s advice, the 7’4 Center used his Go Go Gadget arms to annihilate Brazil’s defense, finishing with 19 points and 9 rebounds. He also utilized his length on the defensive end, getting 4 steals along with 3 blocks.

Victor Wembanyama understands very well what it takes to win

Playing in a young Spurs squad all year, you would think that Wemby has become habitual to being ‘The Guy’ on his team. However, he understands that he is surrounded by far more experienced veterans on his national team who led France to a silver medal in Tokyo. “I’m taking everything that’s given to me and communicating a lot with my teammates,” the rookie remarked. More importantly, despite being only 20, Wemby realizes that they will need a team effort to win gold in Paris.

“It’s about sacrifices. Inside, we have two of the very best players in the EuroLeague and two front-runners for [NBA] defensive player of the year. We’re all ready to give our spot to the next guy. The guys here who have played together for a long time know each other. I like the way they’ve tried to install me in the system.”

And it might turn out to be the perfect setting for Victor to maximize his potential because he is not burdened by the pressure of being ‘The Guy’ every time, but can take over games whenever required. What helps him is that his veteran leaders have full faith in him as Batum claimed, “He knows what he has to do to be great. Take us home. That’s who you are right now. He’s not scared of the moment.”While Wemby opened the Olympics with a bang, the job isn’t over yet. Next, they will face Japan on Tuesday, hoping to get a step closer to the knockout stages in Paris. Do you think Victor Wembanyama will take over once again?

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.