With his incredible abilities and charisma, 20-year-old French basketball star Victor Wembanyama has taken the NBA by storm. With his astounding 224 cm height, Wembanyama has drawn interest from people all around the globe, including Michael Douglas, Drake, and basketball great Kevin Durant.
But how did he gain his big break and where did he come from? What you should know is as follows.
Victor Wembanyama loved basketball since he was young
Wembanyama, who was raised in the Le Chesnay neighborhood of Paris, started his basketball career under the careful guidance of his mother Elodie de Fautereau, a committed basketball coach, as reported by People. Wembanyama became engrossed in basketball from an early age, spurred on by his family’s enthusiasm for the game—his sister Eve, brother Oscar, grandpa Michel de Fautereau, and grandmother Marie Christine, all of whom were avid players.According to the New York Post, his father Felix was a former field athlete who gave him a great respect for good form and the craft of the game.
Wembanyama said in an interview with Slam that his father instilled in him the value of correct running form, saying, “Dad gave me the passion for knowing subjects in-depth, being a real technician of sports, of whatever I do.”
The basketball prodigy’s claim to fаme
CNN claims that Wembanyama’s foray into basketball was fairly coincidental. Michaël Allard, the coach of the Nanterre 92 basketball team, saw him when he was only ten years old. Because of the tall boy’s stature, Allard thought he was an assistant coach and went to the club to sign him. Wembanyama enrolled in the team’s youth development program, where he improved his abilities and established his distinctive playing style. Wembanyama spent seven years as a member of the team, according to France-Amerique. After that, he signed with the Metropolitans 92, then in 2023, the Spurs.
Wemby’s on-the-court magic
Wembanyama was considered a rising talent in basketball even before he made a nаme for himself in the mainstream. Some of the best names in the sport praised him for his extraordinary height in addition to his innate ability, talents, and kind demeanor.NBA great Kevin Durant was reportedly impressed with Wembanyama and said, “That type of talent and skill just puts a smile on your face if you play basketball,” according to Sports Illustrated. The NBA community was excited to see Wembanyama in action, Durant said.
In agreement with Durant, the legendary LeBron James described Wembanyama as a “special talent” and said, “They’ve got a good one here.”Wembanyama is one of the tallest NBA players ever. His extraordinary height has attracted a lot of attention, as fans are аmаzed by his fluid and nimble agility in spite of his large stature. Celebrities like as Michael Douglas and Drake, who have both been seen with him, have shown their support for him due to his unique mix of ability and stature.
Breаking NBA records
Wembanyama created NBA history in December 2023 when he led the San Antonio Spurs to a 128–112 defeat over the Chicago Bulls, scoring 20 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. He broke Dwight Howard’s record by only four days with this accomplishment, becoming him the youngest player in NBA history to have a 20–20 game at the age of 19.
This month, Bloomberg revealed that Wembanyama was on course to become the first professional basketball player to earn an incredible US$1 billiоn while playing. This news only served to fuel Wembanyama’s rapid ascent. Wembanyama, who was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 National Basketball Association draft, agreed to a four-year rookie contract for US$55.2 million, the highest amount permitted by the US league’s current labor agreement.
Wembanyama became “the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with zero turnovers” in the same month that the NBA announced on X, previously Twitter. Turnovers were initially recorded in the 1977–1978 season. Wemby was twenty years old when he accomplished this accomplishment.