NANTERRE, France — This is Victor Wembanyama’s old gym, on the outskirts of Paris where he played as a freakishly tall young boy, and then, as a teenage professional for the first time.
There are rows of green seats bolted into concrete, green paint along the sides and baselines for the basketball court, a low ceiling — typical of European basketball arenas, and Nanterre 92 scripted at center court. Championship banners hang from the rafters.
“When he was here, he was a kid in a big body,” said Vincent Dziagwa, Wembanyama’s trainer from age 13 when he joined Nanterre 92’s basketball academy until age 17, when he left for the pro club Tony Parker owns. “He was always looking to have fun.”
On Monday, Wembanyama ducked through the double doors players walk through as they go from the locker room to the court. For the first time, he made that walk wearing San Antonio Spurs gear. He was serenaded by 50 local youths invited to attend the team’s practice. And while the rest of the Spurs started to stretch for the light workout, the local conquering hero signed autographs for the children and posed for pictures.
Some of Wembanyama’s former coaches, teammates and trainers were inside the gym to greet him, and dozens of French media (and a few Americans) were invited for Wemby’s introductory press conference for the week — in French only.
We have arrived! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/rsOxpK0Kxq
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 20, 2025
This marks new territory for the NBA and the 7-foot-4 French sensation. Never has the league staged its Global Games series in a city where a star of Wembanyama’s magnitude was born and raised, nor had the league held two regular-season games in the same week in Paris before. This is Wemby’s first tour of his old neighborhoods while on official business with the Spurs — they will play the Indiana Pacers in games at Paris’ Accor Arena on Thursday and Saturday nights.
“There are a lot of emotions, seeing familiar people, whether from the club or even from the city,” Wembanyama said. “It’s a bit like two worlds meeting. It’s special, you don’t expect that in a career. It’s a bit my way of making people happy who will never have the opportunity to go to the United States. It’s very important to me. We’ve only been here for a few hours but it’s already incredible.”
The Spurs played Sunday in Miami against the Heat and then flew to Paris, landing early in the afternoon. The team traveled directly to Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez to practice. Typically, NBA teams (and Team USA during the Olympics) practice in another Paris suburb, Boulogne-Levallois, where Wembanyama played his final season in the French pro league for Metropolitans 92.
But, according to at least two reports in French media outlets, Wemby insisted the Spurs practice Monday in Nanterre — near where he grew up and joined the Nanterre 92 program as a 6-foot-7 child.
“We’ll see how it goes but there are a lot of emotions,” Wembanyama said. “Playing in front of the French public, it galvanizes me but there’s no reason to overdo it. I know that the public will be there and noisy, it’s certainly a strength that I will be able to use but it will only be a bonus.”
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Parisians have had chances to celebrate Wembanyama’s international success before — he was the top player for the French national team that won silver at the Paris Olympics in August — but this trip is different. The NBA always generates a buzz in Paris when it visits for a week, but what’s coming is a days-long celebration of the city’s favorite son.
“I first coached him when he was 10,” said Frederic Donnadieu, now the Nanterre 92 program director who coached youth teams when Wembanyama was coming up. “He was a good kid with a good mind. Now he is a big star, and for me, it’s just the beginning. He invited me to the (NBA) Draft. I got to go see the semifinals and finals at the Olympics. With Victor, it’s easy to have many souvenirs.”
The Spurs selected Wembanyama as the No. 1 pick in 2023, and the runaway Rookie of the Year averaged 21.4 points and led the NBA with 3.6 blocks per game. He’s improved so far in his second season, averaging 24.4 points and 10.8 rebounds, is shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and is blocking an astounding 4.0 shots.
Wemby made his pro debut with Nanterre at 15, playing in one game as part of the EuroCup. He played in four games the following year, and 18 games with Nanterre in the French pro league as a 17-year-old, averaging 6.8 points, 4.7 boards and 1.9 blocks.
After two full seasons with Asvel — Parker’s club — Wembanyama played his last season in France for Metropolitans 92 and coach Vincent Collet, the French national team coach. Wemby averaged 21.6 points and 3.0 blocks in his final French pro season before heading to the NBA.
“Playing with the Spurs in Paris is a source of pride but also a responsibility, firstly in terms of sport but also in terms of communication and image,” Wembanyama said. “I have progressed in knowing myself and my teammates. This is reflected in many areas, there are stats that are improving, others that are maintaining. We have progressed a lot thanks to Harrison (Barnes) and Chris (Paul). We are getting closer and closer to the recipe for winning.”
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The Spurs sit three games under .500 (19-22) after losing three straight games. It comes after a positive start to a season in which they had advanced from their status last season as one of the league’s bottom teams.
The veteran additions Wembanyama mentioned — Barnes and Paul — have helped bring an otherwise young team along, especially while legendary coach Gregg Popovich has been away from the team since early November because of a stroke.
Paul is almost 40 and in his 20th season; Wembanyama is only 21. Wemby said of his relationship with Paul: “It’s very natural, very organic. He has a bit of a mentoring role because he has a lot of relevant things to say. I’ve seen other people with less healthy ‘mentorship.’ Here, everything is natural.”
Wembanyama said he would attempt to spend time with his Parisian family and friends, but would also try to cut out distractions on game days to keep his normal, regimented pregame routine. Those who get to see Wemby and remember him when he was “a kid in a big body” will celebrate how they helped him reach the present and watch him take the next step in what figures to be a storied career.
“We have a lot of great memories of him,” Dziagwa said. “It was special when he left (Nanterre) because we knew he would be in the NBA, and now that he’s back here with the Spurs, it’s really special for us. At a very early age, I could see it in his eyes — a cool confidence.”
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(Photo: Franck Fife / AFP via Getty Images)
