Present in Nanterre on the occasion of the “Axe Euro Tour” where the French prospects won against Bronny James and all his clique, Victor Wembanyama agreed to answer questions fromESPN parallel to the meeting. And although the sequence does not even last five minutes, one element stands out in the Frenchman’s speech: his immense desire to join the States and the NBA.
Even when he’s not playing and the room is full of names, each more evocative than the next, his big carcass still stands out. Well installed in the VIP area of the Maurice Thorez Sports Palace alongside Tyronn Lue and Nicolas Batum as part of the “Euro Tour Axis”, Victor Wembanyama once again attracted the attention of the whole world, to whom he offered a rather pleasant appetizer by agreeing to answer a few questions at the microphone from Mike Couzens and Paul Biancardi fromESPN. Asked about his status as potential first pick of the 2023 Draft, his arrival at the Metropolitans 92 or even the players he compares himself to – hello Giannis and KD – it is above all the assessment of the first stay in the United States operated by the Frenchie himself that marked us. Assessment that could also be summed up in the single sentence: it was too good. As a reminder, our national Victor took advantage of this first experience in the country of Uncle Sam to attend the WNBA meeting between the Dallas Wings and the Las Vegas Aces. On the spot, he had also met his compatriot Iliana Rupert, still a rookie. The following ? It was done at Southern Methodist University (SMU) where the boy was able to do some workouts that got people talking. But let’s take a look at what he remembers:
“SMU let me use their facilities for a short time so that I could train. It was really great, I loved my first trip to the United States actually. I was able to recover after my last season which was very tiring, and I even improved there. I had everything I needed so I loved it. I can’t wait to live there in a few months. »
We don’t give you all the excerpts on the subject, but know that “Wembz” insists throughout the interview on his desire to join the USA. When Mike Couzens asks him if it is not too hard to manage the very big hype which surrounds his arrival in the NBA, the Frenchman replies that it does not matter much to him because he is so demanding of him- same as anyone else. Well, he clearly doesn’t seem to be lying about his lack of apprehension, so one can only understand the excitement about joining the Big League. In addition, Victor also explains that he was impressed by the place occupied by sport in American society. And since he already talks about it very well on his own, we’ll just let you read what he says about it himself:
“I knew that sport had a very important place there [aux États-Unis, ndlr] but I was still surprised by the way people treat athletes. They really consider sport as something important, which is not always the case in Europe. So as a basketball player, I loved my experience in the US and I would love to be there. »
Victor Wembanyama in the United States? Both parties seem to want to partner with each other. And even if we are very attached to our nugget, we are obviously looking forward to next year to see the boy become the first French first pick in history, and tear everything up on the NBA floors.
Source texte : ESPN / Sports Center