It took Victor Wembanyama less than a season to conquer the NBA. And it is not among his teammates that the French phenomenon will find detractors. At the same time as opponents and observers of the great North American basketball league, he wasted no time in putting his partners in the San Antonio Spurs in his large pocket.
“At a pre-season yoga session we were all lying down and he asked if anyone needed water or a towel”, remembers winger Doug McDermott, interviewed at the end of March. Transferred from the Texas franchise to Indianapolis at the beginning of February, the American veteran (32 years old) admitted having “preconceptions about draft number 1s” – this annual scholarship for young players wishing to join the NBA –; he insisted: such attention to the rest of the team is “quite rare for a rookie [débutant]. It immediately shows the person he is.”
Elected Western Conference rookie of the month for the third time in a row in March (with 23.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.8 blocks on average), Victor Wembanyama multiplies his leading performances . Despite his status as a budding star, the 20-year-old Frenchman, who scored 17 points, Friday April 5, (during the night from Friday to Saturday, French time), during the victory of the Spurs (111-109) on the floor of the New Orleans Pelicans, is unanimous in the Texan locker room.
Never against a little joke, always ready to teach a few words of French to his traveling companions, the giant (2.24 meters) is as relaxed off the field as he can be concentrated in a match, observe his partners. “I’m quite nervous when I take a plane, but Victor likes to laugh about it”says the Georgian interior of Spurs, Sandro Mamukelashvili (24 years old), with a broad smile.
At a time “joker” And ” quick-witted “according to Doug McDermott – visibly marked by his four months spent alongside the new phenomenon of world basketball –, Victor Wembanyama has a presence “very calming”. In addition to having become the spearhead of the Eperons (“Spurs”, in English) both offensively and defensively.
“I am inspired by him and I learn a lot from him”
Promoted to leader of the youngest squad in the NBA, he quickly shed his initial reserve, sometimes suggests to his teammates to go to dinner and does not hesitate to tell them off about their questionable pronunciation of certain French wines. “He’s one of the strong voices in the locker room, he knows how to motivate ussummarizes winger Julian Champagnie (22 years old), whose locker in the locker room adjoins that of “Wemby”. Victor is able to tell us when we are doing good or bad things and accepts criticism without any worries. We are able to tell each other our four truths, because we all love each other. »
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