Victor Wimbanyama shows why he is the future of the Paris Games
PARIS — If the NBA wanted to offer the people of France the true experience of Fandom, Saturday’s game accomplished just that task.
After San Antonio beat Indiana by 30 on Thursday in their opener, the tables were turned on Saturday as the Pacers beat the Spurs 136-98.
In many ways, this is the most authentic NBA experience anyone could hope for. What’s more realistic than EBBS and its flows, ups and downs and, frankly, varying performance?
The Parisians would clearly have loved to see Spurs dominate again with hometown hero Victor Wimpanyama dropping another 30 bomb, and this is simply not a realistic representation of where the second-year star is in his career.
The fact that Spurs have endured wild highs and crazy lows is largely bizarre to France’s growing fan base. Moreover, after Saturday’s match, Wembanyama shed light on what it’s all about.
“This week has been amazing,” Wembanyama said as an opening statement in the post-game press conference before taking questions. “I was just seeing my family. I’m not trying to be sentimental, but everyone did their job to make this week incredible.”
Wembanyama fails in his quest to not be emotional with his eyes turning red and his voice cracking slightly.
“I did my best to make this week special for my team, for my family, my friends,” he said. “But people still find ways to surprise me, to make things feel like they’re important to them, and I’m important to them. So it’s priceless.”
His deep appreciation for his nation’s constant love betrayed his attempt to keep his face stoned — and we’re all better for it.
The 21-year-old has been busy this week with, well, everything. He’s taken his team out to dinner, unveiled basketball courts, gone to numerous news conferences, appeared at NBA events, and, oh, he’s played two regular-season games as a featured player carrying the load of a nation with more than 68 million people on the slender comeback.
So that this young man does not show fatigue and exhaustion in a press conference after a whirlwind week and a 38-point loss is exactly what stars are made of.
Such a two-game series, Wembanyama’s career will likely mirror it. There will be unimaginable peaks, devastating valleys and a middle ground in which he will have to find a level of comfort just to survive the daily grind that is the NBA.
As for his game, he leaves Paris averaging 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. For 99.9% of NBA players, that’s good enough. For Wembanyama, there is undoubtedly a constant feeling of not doing enough, primarily due to the fact that his potential is limitless.
That passion for the game? That desire to do more? That burning sense of defeat that fills his inner being with more motivation?
He couldn’t be more French, even if he tried.
Victor Wimpanyama is the future of the NBA. And everything he showed in Paris is why.