France overwhelms Doncic-less Slovenia at Bercy, Wembanyama flirts with his national team record

France cruised to a 92-67 win over Slovenia at Bercy, dominating a Doncic-less Slovenian side in the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European qualifiers. The hosts controlled every quarter, outscoring Slovenia 31-17 in the first period, 23-18 in the second, 19-15 in the third and 19-17 in the fourth.

ÇA COMMENCE FORT 🧨

L’alley-oop de Sylvain Francisco pour Jaylen Hoard 🫣

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— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 27, 2026

The 25-point margin left Slovenia with little response all night, with Ground News writing that the “French team left Slovenia no chance, deprived of Luka Doncic, and signed a clear victory (92-67), consolidating its first place.” The Accor Arena was full for the occasion, with fans wearing Wembanyama’s France No. 32 jersey and his San Antonio Spurs No. 1 jersey packing the stands despite a rainy evening in Paris. According to RFI, the arena drew 15,831 spectators for the game.

France’s box score backed up the lopsided scoreline. The hosts shot 24-of-59 from the field, including a sharp 17-of-25 on 2-point attempts, while going just 7-of-34 from beyond the arc. What truly separated the teams was the free-throw line, where France went 37-of-44 — a notably high volume — compared to Slovenia’s 13-of-19. France also won the glass 49-43, with 34 of its boards coming on the defensive end against Slovenia’s 24, and dished out 15 assists to Slovenia’s 18 on a much heavier shooting diet for the visitors, who finished just 23-of-73 from the field on 15-of-41 on 2-points and 8-of-32 from 3-points. France also came out ahead in steals (7 to 5) and blocks (5 to 0), while Slovenia was whistled for 31 fouls against France’s 24.

Wembanyama’s near-record night

Wembanyama was at the center of it all, finishing with 22 points on 5-of-5 shooting on 2-point attempts and 1-of-5 from 3-points, adding 9-of-10 free throws, 9 rebounds, a block and 3 turnovers in just 21.2 minutes on the floor as a starter. That stat line put him within reach of his French national team scoring record of 27 points, set in a preparation game against Germany on July 6, 2024, in Cologne — he came close but did not surpass it. The performance also marked his return to the Accor Arena, the same building where he had scored 26 points against the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold-medal game.

C’est ce qui s’appelle “remettre le couvercle” ! 🔨

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— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 27, 2026

France set the tone early. Wembanyama scored France’s first 3-points of the match, and he and Jaylen Hoard combined on the team’s first two made 3-points as part of an 11-3 start after four minutes. France’s role players made sure the advantage kept growing. Off the bench, Matthew Strazel provided a jolt, finishing with 13 points on 2-of-3 shooting on 2-point attempts and 2-of-4 from deep, adding 3-of-3 free throws, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 21.8 minutes — 10 of those points came in the first half, punctuated by a buzzer-beater that sent France into the locker room up 54-35, a 19-point cushion at halftime.

Also off the bench, Maxime Raynaud added 13 points on 1-of-2 on 2-point attempts and 1-of-1 from 3-points, going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line with 2 rebounds in 9.7 minutes. Amine Noua also caused problems for Slovenia attacking off the dribble, as Strazel had also done. Despite the comfortable margin, France struggled from beyond the arc all night, connecting on just 7 of 34 attempts.

Fauthoux’s rotation and the road ahead

Coach Fauthoux chose to keep Wembanyama and Gobert apart to start the game, a pairing that had struggled in a prior exhibition against Serbia in Belgrade. Instead, Wembanyama opened at pure center alongside Hoard, with Sylvain Francisco, Evan Fournier and Terry Tarpey rounding out the starting five. Francisco finished with 9 points on 3-of-4 shooting on 2-point attempts and 1-of-4 from 3-points, adding 1 rebound and 2 assists in 18.2 minutes. Wembanyama also took some minutes at power forward when he and Gobert were on the floor together, and enjoyed throwing lobs to Gobert, often poorly adjusted. Coming off the bench, Gobert still contributed 9 points on 0-of-1 shooting on 2-point attempts and 9-of-10 free throws, to go with 7 rebounds, an assist and 2 blocks in 18.2 minutes.

The win was France’s sixth in seven games of the 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign under Fauthoux. France now heads to Sweden for its final game of the summer qualifying window.