San Antonio’s Wembanyama heads to France, with “8-10” Spurs joining him for Team France week

Victor Wembanyama is back in France, and San Antonio’s offseason team building is spreading beyond the usual training-room routine. According to remarks attributed to Spurs president of basketball operations R.C. Buford, the plan is for Wembanyama to not travel alone. Instead, Buford said “8-10” other Spurs are set to join him for a short stretch with Team France, creating a rare, early-season-like immersion for a large portion of the roster.

The timing is notable because Wembanyama’s involvement with Team France takes place at a moment when NBA teams are still laying groundwork for the next stretch of development. For the Spurs, the reported emphasis is on shared reps, shared standards, and leadership by example. The cited comment from Buford frames the idea as deliberate, with Wembanyama inviting teammates to spend time with him and learn alongside the national team environment.

Buford’s comments, delivered on a French YouTube show and carried by Yahoo Sports, also underscore the role Wembanyama is playing as more than a star on the court. The reported emphasis is that the group wants to “grow,” and that seeing Wembanyama reach out to other players highlights the team’s culture-building intent. While offseason overseas trips can vary in structure, this one is being described as a focused, week-long type of arrangement, not just a brief appearance.

From a basketball standpoint, the draw is obvious. NBA players who join national-team preparation often benefit from tighter bonding and a clearer sense of how their teammates operate in high-usage situations. For a team in the Spurs’ stage of roster evolution, sending a large cluster of players through the same setting can accelerate consistency and communication, especially for younger or newer rotation pieces.

There is also a practical element to getting that group experience outside of the NBA’s daily cadence. Even when preseason and regular season workloads are managed carefully, it can be difficult for teams to align on rhythm and decision-making early. A national-team week, by contrast, concentrates a group around common priorities, training structure, and game-like preparation, with Wembanyama as the center of gravity for the Spurs contingent.

The main caveat is that the specific names of the “8-10” Spurs were not identified in the reported material, so it is unclear exactly which rotation players are included. It also remains to be seen how the stint with Team France fits around each player’s summer workload and conditioning plan. What is clear is the intent: a deliberate, roster-level investment in togetherness, using an international window as a development tool.