Sport is never as beautiful as when the public becomes an actor in the game. When Victor Wembanyama blocked Kyrie Irving and then hit a three-point shot in the head with the racket almost from the start, Wednesday October 25, the decibels went up at once. Very quickly, very high, very loud, and the walls of the Frost Bank Center, San Antonio’s home arena, shook, the hearts of the 19,000 Spurs fans racing. Everyone is already crazy about “Wemby”, the French phenomenon who had just scored his first points in the NBA. In the front row, his parents, his sister Eve – dressed in a black t-shirt with the front page of the American magazine Slam bearing the image of the Frenchman – and his agents took advantage of the event. “The atmosphere at the start of the match was unrealgreeted Victor Wembanyama after the Spurs’ inaugural defeat against the Dallas Mavericks (126-119). I’m lucky to be here. »
By far the most acclaimed player when he entered the warm-up, the 2.21 m giant got into his match well before being heckled and heavily penalized by fouls for his first official outing in the NBA (15 points in 23 minutes). Followed very closely by the defense, the 19-year-old Frenchman was embarrassed by the preferential treatment of the Dallas Mavericks. Intrigued by the phenomenon, Luka Doncic – the opposing star – and his teammates had trained all week with arm extensions to better understand Victor Wembanyama’s 2.43 m wingspan.
“I wanted to do too well, I didn’t put my energy into the right thingsrecognized the Texan number 1, with a crestfallen expression. I don’t need to take as many risks on defense but I’m learning, what’s more surprising for a rookie [débutant] and a first match. » If his first in the NBA was less successful than his preseason, “Wemby” showed some responsiveness at the very end of the game, when Dallas thought they had the match in their pocket. A three-point shot kept the Spurs in the game (110-108, 42e), causing the “Go Spurs go” from the stands, and reviving the room, a little dull and disappointed in the face of the numerous stray bullets from its protégés (twelve, in the end).
“It would have been complicated for him to end with an unfinished match on both sides of the field”, analyzes former French international Ian Mahinmi. For the former Spurs player (from 2007 to 2010), who still resides in San Antonio, despite a complicated match, Wembanyama’s second period “shows that he has character and the soul of a leader. This is important and bodes well for the future. »
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