Genetics, audacity and education, the perfect mix of 'Wemby', number one in the 'draft'

Already when he was training in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, the height of his talent was evident to all. On target: 2.24 meters. Agile and elegant in their movements. Victor Wembanyama (Chesnay, Yvelines, 2004) grew up with a ball in his hands and now, at the age of 19, he is the most promising star in French basketball, having managed to be number one in the NBA draft.

He is considered the best of his generation. He himself has recognized that, already in primary school, he was a head above many of his teachers. His father, of Congolese origin, was two meters tall and a jumper. His sister, Eve, is a professional player and his mother was a basketball coach. His promising story combines genetics and upbringing, but he needed the third element to get where he's at: talent.

“Although it was something expected… When you are going to have a child, you have known it for nine months, but you are excited anyway. This is similar. It's something mythical, legendary (…) It's something I've always dreamed of,” he said after learning that he will play with the San Antonio Spurs.

Wemby, his nickname, started basketball at the age of seven, after having practiced judo and soccer. He always stood out and shone above the average and soon caught the attention of international clubs. At the age of 10 he entered the Nanterre youth academy. He was almost 1.90. At 14, Barcelona is already courting him, but his parents preferred that he continue training in Nanterre.

“He has always been very well surrounded, with parents who are very present but not overbearing, who have been there to help him and protect him, especially from the media attention he generates,” commentator George Eddy, who often plays at French newspaper Liberation, explains. basketball with his father

other passions

Since the season began, it has had more than fifty requests for interviews from the American media. All denied. His coaches assure that he has a high emotional intelligence. “I have never seen an 18-year-old athlete so eloquent in front of the microphones,” Bryan George, one of his coaches in Nanterre, told the aforementioned outlet.. He also says that Wemby likes to draw, make legos and read.

It's been a while since he's been driving the sports media crazy and they're pooling with the fortune he's going to generate. According to Le Parisien, the player, who already earned 20,000 euros a month in France, could reach 55 million dollars in four years.. He could bring the Texan franchise $500 million.

Champion of France and star of the U19 World Cup, he is also the flag for the Paris 2024 Games, although he has always had his focus on the NBA. Last year he changed ASVEL, the Euroleague team he was in, for Metropolitans 92, the best of the clubs that does not play in European competition and is led by the France coach, Vincent Collet, which allowed him to be better warded. Also, play fewer games and prepare better for your goal.

“I try to start at the same pace and then improve, working as if I were a player of average size.. Since I was 10 years old I have tried to do everything on the pitch,” he said recently in an interview with L'Equipe.

praised by all

He has been called 'the alien' or 'the gifted'. The French coach admitted to having seen many “tall players who shoot with their feet on the ground”, “but he is capable of moving and shooting and that is something unique.”. “He is a winner, a competitor, of the breed of champions. We have been a stage for him, but the beautiful thing is that he has lived it to the fullest”, he said after his last game with this team.

Wemby will be able to measure himself with Tony Parker, the French legend of the NBA. “You make us dream,” French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated him on Twitter. “Wemby, the adventure begins now,” another French sports star, footballer Kylian Mbappé, told the same network.