The first dinner that Victor Wembanyama had in his new home city was filled with San Antonio royalty. Gregg Popovich was there, of course. So were Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Sean Elliott.
NBA champions, all of them.
Wembanyama now starts his quest to join their club after being drafted first overall, like Duncan and Robinson once were.
‘Couldn’t ask for better role models,’ Wembanyama wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of himself alongside Elliott, Robinson, Ginobili and Duncan.
Even as the welcomes for Wemby continued Saturday — one at San Antonio’s iconic downtown River Walk, another at the arena — the French teen who has been labeled a generational basketball talent already was thinking about what comes next. He’s got a visit to Nike headquarters in Oregon in the next few days, appointments to see some houses in San Antonio that he might be calling home for the next few years and then practices for the NBA Summer League.
Wembanyama with Spurs greats (from left to right) Elliott, Robinson, Ginobili and Duncan
Victor Wembanyama is interviewed by Spurs great Sean Elliott on the river walk in San Antonio
Legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was also attended the dinner with his new player
‘I’ve got a lot to do,’ Wembanyama said. ‘But it’s all right. It’s OK. It’s all going to fit in.’
He’s excited, and rightly so. He put on a Spurs uniform on Saturday for the first time and will play in one for the first time sometime in early July in either Sacramento or Las Vegas; San Antonio plays in both of those summer leagues. He offered high-fives to hundreds of Spurs employees who showed up at the arena on Saturday to welcome him, smiling the whole way.
‘These are exciting times,’ Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said.
They come with the biggest expectations. The morning party on the River Walk took place at the spot where the Spurs’ championship celebrations usually are centered. And the news conference that followed at the arena came with Wembanyama seated on a stage that just happened to be at the same end of the court as San Antonio’s five NBA championship banners.
‘To Victor, I wanted to say to you directly, we’re excited to grow with you, support you, challenge you, especially Coach Pop — there’ll be a lot of challenging days — on your journey through life and basketball,’ Spurs general manager Brian Wright said as he sat to Wembanyama’s left. ‘Your talent is obvious, but as we got to know you, the maturity, the approach, the character really showed us how special of a young man you are.’
Spurs draft pick Victor Wembanyama dunks the ball at a press conference at AT&T Center
It was part of a whirlwind first 20 hours or so in San Antonio for Wembanyama, who flew in from the NBA draft on Friday and had dinner with Popovich and some former players that night. Wembanyama said he learned more about the NBA in those two hours than he had learned in the last few years.
‘Honestly, that was one of the best dinners of my life,’ Wembanyama said. ‘And not because of the food. The food was good. But the people was crazy.’
Saturday started with Wembanyama enjoying a bag of the city’s famed breakfast tacos — bacon and egg, and bean and cheese, he said — before heading to the Arneson River Theater for the day’s first introductory event. Robinson was there, sitting in the front row. So was San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, wearing a Wembanyama jersey.
There’s someone driving around San Antonio with a Wemby license plate. There’s a burger with foie gras on the menu at a local sports bar, as a tribute to Wembanyama. There’s a mural of him on the outside of a business directly across the street of another mural featuring Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker. There’s even a mariachi band that already has a song about Wembanyama.
‘The fans have been the best at their job,’ Wembanyama said. ‘I can only hope to be at their level.’
Wembanyama is predicted to follow in the footsteps of Spurs centers Duncan and Robinson
Spurs greats Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan pictured during the 2005 season
Tim Duncan is pictured with former teammate David Robinson after winning his fifth title
The Spurs also introduced second-round pick Sidy Cissoko on Saturday — another player from France who has known Wembanyama for about a decade. Cissoko played in Spain before ending up with the G League Ignite, and he already has endeared himself to San Antonio, a city with a strong Latin influence, by taking questions in English, French and Spanish.
‘The hoop gods have been incredibly generous to San Antonio for a long time, and they blessed us again with Victor and Sidy,’ Buford said.
Repeating the Spurs legends’ success won’t be easy.
For every Duncan there’s a Markelle Fultz, Anthony Bennett, or Greg Oden — top picks who failed to meet expectations for one reason or another.
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And then there’s the challenge of playing for Popovich, a former US Air Force intelligence officer who brings that sort of regimented, militaristic structure to coaching.
‘He’s not intimidating yet, but I’m sure he’s going to get intimidating when I see him in real life,’ Wembanyama said Thursday night.
Wembanyama already has some familiarity with the Spurs, having watched his countrymen, Parker, play in the NBA Finals for Coach Popovich.
He might have the chance to work with Duncan, who briefly served as an assistant coach under Popovich, and has been known to mentor young Spurs players from time to time.
Elliot, Popovich, Robinson, and Duncan of the Spurs pose with the Larry O’Brian Trophy in 1999
‘Tim Duncan, if I got the opportunity to work with him… I can’t really think of a better role model,’ Wembanyama said on draft night.
Wembanyama said he hasn’t had much time for sleep, and he’s looking forward to things calming down a bit so he can get back into his basketball routine — one that has been understandably disrupted in recent days. But first, there was luggage to unpack, more people to meet, more jerseys to sign.
It was hectic. It’s going to be hectic for a while. And Wembanyama says he’s enjoying it all.
‘This is the life I wanted,’ Wembanyama said. ‘This is what I worked for and it’s what I’ve been wanting for a long time. So, it feels normal to me.’
