2023-10-25 08:44:04
The young French prodigy who will play his next match in the prestigious North American League speaks before the big jump.
A gloomy weather forecast, between downpours and gray weather, accompanies the highly anticipated NBA debut of young Frenchman Victor Wembanyama (19), scheduled for Wednesday evening in San Antonio (Texas).
On Tuesday, a few rays of sunshine sometimes pierced the thick cloud cover of San Antonio, where there is a humid heat (around 30 degrees, 86% humidity). The metaphor is essential with the San Antonio Spurs, a team deprived of the play-offs since 2019, which is already celebrating the “rookie» Victor Wembanyama as his new star.
At 19 years old, the No. 1 of the last draft, with talent announced as unprecedented, begins his NBA career on Wednesday at home against Dallas (8:30 p.m. local, 3:30 a.m. Paris time Thursday).
«I have butterflies in my stomach, yes. For me, this is somewhat the case before each match, even if it of course depends on the stakes, the importance of the match. I don’t start shaking or sweating either, but my stomach hurts a little.“, said the Frenchman on Tuesday after training, the last minutes of which were open to the media.
Black sleeve on his right arm, protruding shoulders, thin mustache and bushy goatee, Wembanyama spoke in front of around twenty journalists, two thirds of whom were French.
Street art
In the center, where posters still welcome the Frenchman, the showers have emptied the bucolic promenade along a river extended by canals.
In the sprawling and horizontal San Antonio, the seventh most populous city in the country (1.4 million inhabitants), the “Wembamania» has been rampant since May 16. The evening Spurs were announced as the first to choose a player in the Draft, held in June, was celebrated as the greatest victory by supporters, certain of getting the Frenchman.
Since then, references to the uniquely talented giant (2.24 m) have flourished throughout the city. We eat long sandwiches in his name; a mariachi group (Mexican-influenced music) devotes a little song to him; and above all, we paint his portrait in street art style on the walls.
This is the case of Michael Sanchez, who reproduced a digital creation by the young artist “Empire», a Wembanyama on a blue-white-red background surrounded by the Eiffel Tower and the “Tour of the Americas», its local equivalent.
«One of us»
Described by his coach as a boy “intelligent», Wembanyama quickly immersed himself in the local culture. In September, he surveyed the city with a microphone in hand for a little report full of freshness on the locals, delighted by the attention of the giant, and the Texan expressions that he already mastered.
Incidentally, the Frenchman surprised Michael Sanchez with a signature, religiously framed and since protected, on his painting.
«What a shock to see him here! The day he came, luckily I had a marker», smiles Mr. Sanchez. “He never stopped thanking us, congratulating us.»
«We have always welcomed the players and done everything to make them feel good here. He is one of us. He is a very humble young man, he is even better than I expected.»
The Spurs, the city’s only professional team, five times crowned in the NBA (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014) enjoy immense popularity in San Antonio, where more than 13,000 spectators came to attend a simple training session in early October .
«I haven’t seen a single person negative towards me since I arrived, Wembanyama appreciates. I know it’s easy to support me when things are going well, but I also know they will be there during the tough times. This is the best environment I could be in», assures the “frenchy», heir in the hearts of Tony Parker’s supporters.
The real encouragement on the floor begins Wednesday evening against Dallas.
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