(San Antonio) Before his first press conference at the AT&T Arena, Victor Wembanyama saw an item that the Spurs had built for the occasion: an Eiffel Tower built with hundreds of Lego blocks.
Wembanyama loves Legos. He smiled as he saw the four-foot replica of the tower. Then he sat down next to Spurs general manager Brian Wright and started talking business.
At 19, the Frenchman does not hesitate to say that he likes Legos.
He also seems very, very mature for his age, as Spurs are banking on him to revive.
“They’ve already started taking good care of me,” said the seven-foot-four athlete.
PHOTO TROY TAORMINA, USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS CON
Victor Wembanyama attended a press conference at the AT&T in San Antonio on June 24.
It’s in their interest, because the whole planet is watching them. Basketball has been so popular for a long time and the NBA is a global league: approximately 25% of players in the league were born outside the United States.
However, never has an international player had the same media hype: Wemby is already a global brand and a global phenomenon.
Even LeBron James didn’t get this much attention when he entered the league 20 years ago.
The little guy from Akron, as he likes to call himself, is one of the greatest sports successes in history: he grew up with little and he found fame and fortune when he arrived in the league, before to become the all-time scoring champion. And his journey is not over.
LeBron was a big, big deal in the United States in 2003.
Wembanyama is even more so and on a global scale. That’s the difference.
PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK T. FALLON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Victor Wembanyama waves to Spurs fans gathered for a press conference at the AT&T in San Antonio on June 24.
If he plays for France in the World Cup this summer (he wants to, but Spurs might object), he would play in Indonesia and the Philippines.
He’ll be the center of attention next month in the Summer League, and also when the new NBA season kicks off.
“Because of all the hype, he’ll have a target on his back,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
“In the beginning, the focus will not be on game patterns, but rather on creating an environment where he is comfortable, where he can be Victor.
“He’s not LeBron or Tim [Duncan] or Kobe [Bryant], or anyone else. He’s Victor, and that’s what we want him to be. »
The most valuable player in the recent final was Serbian Nikola Jokic.
The one of the recent season was the Cameroonian Joel Embiid, who was the scoring champion.
In the race for the most valuable player of the season, he edged out Jokic and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The trio have claimed the last five MVP titles. The Slovenian Luka Doncic is also part of the crème de la crème.
Some are talking about a World vs. United States formula in the All-Star Game, which would be quite a challenge for the Americans.
“David Stern is unfortunately no longer with us, but it was really his vision that basketball should have such a broad reach,” said commissioner Adam Silver. If he’s watching us from up there, I know he’d be incredibly proud to see all of this. »