Gobert and Fournier back, Wembanyama absent, first for Raynaud… the selection of the Bleus du basketball for the July matches

The good news continued for Evan Fournier. Just a few hours before the match – and victory – of his Olympiakos Athens team against Fenerbahçe, in the first semi-final of the Euroleague Final Four, the French guard learned on Friday – without much surprise – that he was one of the 16 players summoned by the Blues coach Frédéric Fauthoux for the preparation course for the two qualifying matches in July for the 2027 Basketball World Cup.

The course will begin on Monday June 22, in Pau, before France faces Belgium, Friday July 3 in Antwerp, then Finland, Monday July 6 in Pau, as part of the last two days of the first phase of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup (from August 27 to September 12, 2027 in Qatar).

Among the 16 players summoned, therefore, the return of Evan Fournier and his friend Rudy Gobert who had not worn the blue tunic since the Paris Games in 2024. The two “old hands” (35 years old) had not participated in the Euro, finished in the round of 16, last summer.

“They have the experience,” Fauthoux explains on the website of the French Basketball Federation. But for now we are only talking about the summer of 2026. We do not know what will happen in 2027 and 2028. Rudy and Evan performed well with their club this season and that is the most important thing. »

Wembanyama should be there in August

Currently in the conference final with the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama will be significantly absent from the two July matches. However, he should join the French team for the second qualifying phase which will begin with a meeting at the Accor Arena (Paris) on August 27, against an opponent who is still undetermined. Mathias Lessort and Théo Maledon are also not part of this list.

Note, however, the presence of Maxime Raynaud, one of the revelations of the NBA season for the Frenchies. The young pivot from Sacramento (23 years old, 2.14 m), elected in the second major 5 of NBA rookies of the season, should debut his first cap.

At the end of the training course, the coach will select 12 players for the two matches against Belgium and Finland.

“We have to make complementary choices based on the players’ seasons,” continues Fauthoux. What matters is the current level. Then, there are experience criteria, which we lacked a little at EuroBasket. And finally, we wanted to see certain players, particularly due to the absence of Victor Wembanyama, following his qualification for the Conference final. »

The Federation also announced, “in a desire to strengthen the technical staff”, the appointment of Pascal Donnadieu as Fauthoux’s assistant. A role he already had with Vincent Collet. He joins a staff of assistants which already includes Laurent Vila, Bryan George and Joseph Gomis.