Extended Interview: Victor Wembanyama on playing style, training and life off the court — Transcript

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1. 0:00What did you do this past summer to
2. 0:02nourish your spirit?
3. 0:04>> To nourish my spirit,
4. 0:06uh I think there was one main thing was
5. 0:08just being in France,
6. 0:10hanging out there, even when I
7. 0:12practiced, you know,
8. 0:13seeing my siblings, my family, my
9. 0:15friends almost every day, so
10. 0:17nothing comes close to this in terms of
11. 0:20nourishing my spirit.
12. 0:22>> No no monastery, but you get to go back
13. 0:23home.
14. 0:24>> Exactly.
15. 0:26>> You said a few times, "Basketball is
16. 0:28really hard."
17. 0:29>> Mhm.
18. 0:29>> What specifically is hard about
19. 0:31basketball to you?
20. 0:33>> It depends. In this league, in the NBA,
21. 0:35what's hard is showing up every single
22. 0:38night over a long year.
23. 0:41But uh
24. 0:43when you take a step back, really it's
25. 0:45it's not a hard life. No, it's is it
26. 0:48like uh demanding? Oh, yes, very
27. 0:49demanding, but not a hard life.
28. 0:52>> What's the most demanding part of
29. 0:53basketball?
30. 0:54>> I would say it's a sport where just
31. 0:57effort is not enough. And just being a
32. 0:59technical player is not enough. You have
33. 1:01to have a mix of both.
34. 1:02>> Talk about that. You're putting the ball
35. 1:04on the floor, you're you're dribbling,
36. 1:06you're dunking in traffic, you're
37. 1:07shooting the three, blocking shots. What
38. 1:10part of basketball specifically brings
39. 1:12you the greatest joy?
40. 1:14>> I think alley-oops
41. 1:15in particular, because alley-oops are
42. 1:17team play and also a dunk. I like
43. 1:19alley-oops.
44. 1:20>> It's like a telepathy.
45. 1:21>> Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
46. 1:23>> You ever You ever thrown an alley-oop?
47. 1:24>> Of course I have.
48. 1:25>> So you You've been the recipient
49. 1:27>> more than I've thrown it, of course, as
50. 1:29I should, but I've thrown a few, for
51. 1:31sure.
52. 1:32>> No one's ever played the game like you.
53. 1:34No one has had your combination of size
54. 1:36and skill set. There's no blueprint
55. 1:38here. So how are you figuring out
56. 1:40how to train, how to pace yourself, how
57. 1:43to even envision your career when no
58. 1:45one's done it before you?
59. 1:46>> It's true. It is a difficulty, first of
60. 1:48all, because of the player that I am,
61. 1:51but also being
62. 1:53a foreigner here, growing up in totally
63. 1:55different environment.
64. 1:57And uh I think the key is being
65. 1:59comfortable not knowing, being
66. 2:00comfortable
67. 2:01finding out my own answers. Are you
68. 2:04comfortable? I am comfortable not
69. 2:06knowing my answers. I am comfortable
70. 2:08walking through the fog.
71. 2:09>> What's it like when you make it through
72. 2:10the fog? When you figure something out?
73. 2:13>> There's brief moments where my head
74. 2:15peaks through and then I see the sun.
75. 2:16Yeah, they're they're great. Last year
76. 2:18there was this, I think the month of
77. 2:20February, we didn't lose a single single
78. 2:22game.
79. 2:23This is these moments where everything
80. 2:25clicks, you know.
81. 2:26>> You were born after the Spurs had
82. 2:28already started winning championships.
83. 2:30When you were a kid, what was your
84. 2:31impression of this franchise, this
85. 2:33organization?
86. 2:34>> The franchise with the greatest coach of
87. 2:35all time.
88. 2:37The franchise with a a big French
89. 2:40history as well.
90. 2:42Yeah, just winning, a winner's
91. 2:44franchise, you know.
92. 2:45>> Greatest coach of all time, you're
93. 2:46you're talking about Pop.
94. 2:48>> Yeah.
95. 2:48>> Talking about Gregg Popovich, who you
96. 2:49played for and got very close to. What's
97. 2:51the most important thing he ever told
98. 2:54you?
99. 2:54>> One lesson that often comes up
100. 2:57is uh about humility. He often said
101. 3:00something when we were in film
102. 3:03after a win, you're rarely as good as
103. 3:05you thought you were. And after a loss,
104. 3:06you're rarely as bad as you thought you
105. 3:08were. So, never too high, never too low.
106. 3:11>> Sounds easier said than done.
107. 3:13>> Mhm. And I've
108. 3:15I've made that mistake before.
109. 3:17>> You didn't just dream of playing in the
110. 3:19NBA.
111. 3:20>> Mhm.
112. 3:20>> You learned English in part cuz you
113. 3:22thought it would make your life easier
114. 3:23when you got to the NBA.
115. 3:25>> Mhm.
116. 3:26>> Now that you're here, how much does it
117. 3:28align with what you had imagined as a
118. 3:30kid?
119. 3:31>> The NBA?
120. 3:32>> Yeah.
121. 3:32>> It's all It's everything that I
122. 3:34imagined. I think as a NBA player, and
123. 3:37if you're if you're amongst the also the
124. 3:39stars of this league,
125. 3:41you really make your career whatever you
126. 3:42want it to make it. Of course, every
127. 3:44you're always going to do your best on
128. 3:45the court, the best that you can.
129. 3:46But on the side, you can choose to be
130. 3:48the the influencer, you can choose to be
131. 3:50the philanthropist, you can choose to be
132. 3:52the the guy that's going to promote
133. 3:54gambling and alcohol.
134. 3:57You can choose whatever you want. So,
135. 4:01it's really everything that I imagined.
136. 4:03>> Someone said, "What did you choose? You
137. 4:05You have all these options. What did you
138. 4:06choose?" What would you say?
139. 4:08>> I think my choice isn't final because
140. 4:10I'm still growing as a person, but I
141. 4:11want to promote
142. 4:13uh
143. 4:15healthy things and healthy I don't I
144. 4:17don't mean just the food, but
145. 4:19uh healthy habits,
146. 4:21things that make people's lives better,
147. 4:24uh and things that and in the future
148. 4:26also things that make society better,
149. 4:28hopefully.
150. 4:30>> Where do you get that?
151. 4:32>> I don't know. I have a
152. 4:34I think my family
153. 4:36most more than anything else.
154. 4:38>> I want to make sure I get this right, so
155. 4:39I want to read this. You
156. 4:41You recently said, "As as the years go
157. 4:42by, I have fewer and fewer filters. I'm
158. 4:44less afraid to say what I think."
159. 4:46>> Mhm.
160. 4:47>> For most athletes, it's sometimes the
161. 4:48opposite.
162. 4:49>> Yeah.
163. 4:50It's been the opposite for me at some
164. 4:51point, of course, but
165. 4:53feel like I've I've grown past
166. 4:56that edge.
167. 4:57>> Was there a moment when you said, "I
168. 4:58don't want to be guarded anymore?"
169. 5:00>> Uh yeah.
170. 5:02There is.
171. 5:04I think the the the condition I had
172. 5:07early 2025, uh the thrombosis, it's uh
173. 5:10had a huge huge impact on this.
174. 5:13>> He's referring to a blood clot he
175. 5:15suffered in his shoulder in 2025, which
176. 5:18shut down his second season.
177. 5:20>> After that, it's like life's so short. I
178. 5:22don't I don't even want to
179. 5:24waste it being somebody else,
180. 5:26you know? Simple as that.
181. 5:29>> You were up front last year.
182. 5:31"I should have won the MVP." You made a
183. 5:33strong case. I'm guessing your your
184. 5:34views haven't changed on that.
185. 5:36>> You should have won the MVP?
186. 5:37>> It's what you said.
187. 5:38>> Did I?
188. 5:39>> Should you have won the MVP last year?
189. 5:41>> Uh
190. 5:43no.
191. 5:45I should win it this year, though.
192. 5:50>> Last year in the finals, you were
193. 5:51portrayed as a villain.
194. 5:54Correct me if I'm wrong.
195. 5:56I didn't get the feeling that bothered
196. 5:57you.
197. 5:58>> No, it didn't because it's I'm not
198. 6:00paying attention to this the during the
199. 6:02finals. I don't think any player on
200. 6:04either team really is
201. 6:06>> I wondered if you didn't show him this
202. 6:08is part of my character, too. Edgy
203. 6:10Wemby, whatever it is, but you showed a
204. 6:11new side of yourself.
205. 6:12>> It showed my limits more than
206. 6:15anything else.
207. 6:17Going out there,
208. 6:18you need to play basketball. You don't
209. 6:19need to be bigger than people.
210. 6:21>> [laughter]
211. 6:22>> If you want to win, at least.
212. 6:24>> You got to the finals.
213. 6:25>> Mhm.
214. 6:26>> When you think back to the playoffs,
215. 6:28what specific moment do you replay the
216. 6:30most?
217. 6:31>> I think there's two, uh, I think
218. 6:34uh,
219. 6:36games get There's three. I would say
220. 6:38game one in OKC,
221. 6:42game seven in OKC,
222. 6:44and game four in New York.
223. 6:47>> Why game four in New York?
224. 6:49>> Because it's, uh,
225. 6:50the most intense
226. 6:52heartbreak moment
227. 6:55in, uh, in my career.
228. 6:59>> I want to ask you about chess.
229. 7:00>> Mhm.
230. 7:01>> Explain the basketball chess overlap. Is
231. 7:04there a basketball chess overlap?
232. 7:06>> Yes, there is.
233. 7:07I find that chess is a lot about
234. 7:08decision-making,
235. 7:10and that looks like basketball a lot, at
236. 7:12least in theory, because there are some
237. 7:14theoretical good moves.
238. 7:16>> As opponents go, how tough was Louise?
239. 7:18>> Was she the last one with the glasses?
240. 7:20>> Yeah.
241. 7:23>> She was a She was tough.
242. 7:26>> [applause]
243. 7:28>> Do you remember your chess games? Do you
244. 7:30play them back in your head?
245. 7:32>> Some of them, yes.
246. 7:34>> What What do you remember about them?
247. 7:36>> The blunders.
248. 7:38>> You remember the mistakes, the
249. 7:39turnovers, the the dribbling off your
250. 7:41knee?
251. 7:41>> Yeah. You remember them.
252. 7:43>> Are you getting better?
253. 7:44>> At chess?
254. 7:45>> Yes.
255. 7:46>> Uh, right now, no.
256. 7:48Sometimes in the summer, yeah.
257. 7:50But during the year, not not that much.
258. 7:53>> We'd heard that sometimes when you do
259. 7:54cardio, when you do your conditioning,
260. 7:56you're playing chess at the same time.
261. 7:59>> It's been a while. I mean, as I said,
262. 8:00it's decision-making.
263. 8:02>> What does that even look like to do your
264. 8:03cardio while playing chess?
265. 8:04>> So, it's, uh, It Often it's on the bike,
266. 8:07and they they set up like a big box on
267. 8:10the left or on the right.
268. 8:12And they they put the chessboard on top.
269. 8:13And I play against the front office
270. 8:16guys, which are really smart and really
271. 8:18good at chess for a lot of them.
272. 8:21And uh
273. 8:22sometimes I beat them, sometimes they
274. 8:23beat me.
275. 8:24>> We've heard of handicaps in chess. I'm
276. 8:25not sure I've ever heard of someone
277. 8:27doing the exercise bike while the
278. 8:28opponent's just uh sitting there.
279. 8:30>> like I go say it's a I don't know uh
280. 8:33sometimes it it could be 4 minutes and 1
281. 8:35minute rest, you know, some some like
282. 8:37this. And during the rest, that's when I
283. 8:38play.
284. 8:40>> Why do you train the way you train?
285. 8:42>> So, I think this the way I train is
286. 8:45always changing. I'm always trying to
287. 8:47learn and meeting new people.
288. 8:51And why? Because, first of all, I'm
289. 8:53curious.
290. 8:55Second of all, because I want to do
291. 8:57what's best.
292. 9:00And also, I want to do what's best for
293. 9:02me.
294. 9:03It's different for everybody.
295. 9:05So, why do I train the way I train?
296. 9:07Because uh big men have always had feet
297. 9:09problems.
298. 9:10And uh I also find more and more that
299. 9:14feet are responsible for so much more
300. 9:16that goes
301. 9:17on. It's funny cuz I was just talking to
302. 9:20a rookie.
303. 9:21I went to the to practice barefoot.
304. 9:23And he sees me walking without shoes,
305. 9:25and he was like, "I didn't know you
306. 9:26could just not wear shoes."
307. 9:29>> You said you've learned that feet are
308. 9:30very important.
309. 9:31>> Yes.
310. 9:32>> For an athlete, for a basketball player,
311. 9:33for you.
312. 9:34>> Mhm.
313. 9:35>> What do you do to protect the feet?
314. 9:37>> Strengthening them.
315. 9:38And I think strengthening them
316. 9:41First of all, it it takes time. I'm
317. 9:43better right now than I was 2 years ago.
318. 9:45Even better than I was 5 years ago.
319. 9:47But the the feet have
320. 9:50mhm very intricate muscles, much more
321. 9:53than what we're taught about in you
322. 9:55know, there's um
323. 9:57I try to work barefoot as much as I can.
324. 9:59And wear uh minimalistic shoes. Those
325. 10:02aren't minimalist, those are maximalist.
326. 10:04It does get a thick sole, you know.
327. 10:06They're looking nice, though. If you
328. 10:07want to They look very nice.
329. 10:09>> But these are what you wear to go really
330. 10:11easy on the feet. You're not going to
331. 10:12pound them. You just slip those on.
332. 10:14>> wear for 60-minute interviews.
333. 10:16>> But you're you're you're cool walking
334. 10:17around barefoot, though.
335. 10:19>> Yeah, of course. So,
336. 10:20you basically you need to you need to
337. 10:22strengthen your feet. And what shoes do
338. 10:24like shoes like yours, for example, they
339. 10:26don't respect the natural shape of the
340. 10:27foot.
341. 10:28So, they don't allow it to work the way
342. 10:30it's supposed to.
343. 10:32But And what I mean by that is splaying
344. 10:35and applying force down through the toes
345. 10:37and through the toes and through the
346. 10:38base of the big toe, especially.
347. 10:40And um
348. 10:42what's what this is going to bring you
349. 10:44if you got a good foot strength, which
350. 10:47brings a good foot posture, everything
351. 10:49else can develop the right way. Knee,
352. 10:51hip, and back, everything.
353. 10:53And then you can strengthen everything
354. 10:55in the right direction.
355. 10:57>> If basketball doesn't work out,
356. 10:59podiatry.
357. 11:00You have you have a future.
358. 11:02>> We'll see.
359. 11:04>> I wonder if someone as curious as you
360. 11:05enjoy sort of hacking
361. 11:08the training of all of it. I mean, the
362. 11:10the the games are great, but you've got
363. 11:11to stay in shape.
364. 11:12>> So, it kind of goes back to
365. 11:15if I understand that well, it kind of
366. 11:16goes back to being comfortable in
367. 11:18walking through the unknown.
368. 11:20Because
369. 11:21no Yeah, nobody has trained
370. 11:23nobody like me. First of all,
371. 11:26I doubt that there's anybody else like
372. 11:27me.
373. 11:28But nobody is like me or similar to me
374. 11:30has trained the way I'm training. And
375. 11:32I'm trying to figure out the answers.
376. 11:34And I'm checking boxes. And uh sometimes
377. 11:38I try something. Nope, it's not working.
378. 11:41We push it aside, try on to the next
379. 11:42thing,
380. 11:44and we work on from there.
381. 11:46>> You appreciate that most other athletes,
382. 11:47there's always someone before them or I
383. 11:49can follow this path. You don't have
384. 11:52that.
385. 11:52>> a It is a uh difficulty that I face,
386. 11:55yes. But
387. 11:57I've known I signed up for that. I've I
388. 11:59know that it's lonely up on the
389. 12:02mountaintop.
390. 12:04>> Doesn't that also kind of make it fun?
391. 12:06You're charting your own path.
392. 12:08>> I wouldn't want it to be different.
393. 12:11>> Last summer you trained at a
394. 12:13Chinese monastery famously.
395. 12:14>> Mhm.
396. 12:15>> Did you get into the meditation? How'd
397. 12:17you do with it?
398. 12:18>> Uh
399. 12:19it was hard because they push you to the
400. 12:21next level.
401. 12:23It was really hard. I think the first
402. 12:25very first day
403. 12:27it was an hour 40 of meditation. Silence
404. 12:30to complete silence.
405. 12:32It was crazy. It was really hard.
406. 12:33>> You'd never done anything like that.
407. 12:35>> Nothing close to that.
408. 12:36>> What was the longest you could go
409. 12:38meditating?
410. 12:39>> I was probably like sitting for 30
411. 12:41minutes.
412. 12:42And then a an hour and a half wondering
413. 12:45how much longer is it going to
414. 12:47go on for? Yeah.
415. 12:48>> Someone told me you meditate briefly in
416. 12:51between free throws.
417. 12:52>> Mhm. You could call that meditation I
418. 12:54guess.
419. 12:55>> Where do your thoughts go?
420. 12:56>> I think centering back.
421. 12:58Uh you know, thinking that it's it's I
422. 13:00think of it as just a regular shot
423. 13:02because when you try to make it too
424. 13:04technical, it becomes like a robot.
425. 13:07>> You're trying to think about nothing or
426. 13:10think about something very specifically?
427. 13:12>> Nothing for a second and then focusing
428. 13:14on making the shot.
429. 13:16>> Do you know your free throw percentage?
430. 13:18>> 82.
431. 13:18>> I was going to say it's like 82% you're
432. 13:20doing something right.
433. 13:22>> We better.
434. 13:24>> You appreciate that never mind athletes
435. 13:26not all people have your level of
436. 13:28curiosity.
437. 13:30>> Yeah, it's the defining trait of mine.
438. 13:33>> Historically some players have resisted
439. 13:35San Antonio. It's a small market. There
440. 13:37are no beaches. It doesn't maybe have
441. 13:38the nightlife of Miami or Val d'Isere.
442. 13:40You you wanted to come here.
443. 13:42>> Yeah.
444. 13:42>> Why?
445. 13:44>> Because of the franchise, because of the
446. 13:47the history. I know this is where I
447. 13:49belong.
448. 13:58>> It's your fourth year. It's the Jackals
449. 13:59second year.
450. 14:00>> Mhm.
451. 14:01>> That's right.
452. 14:01>> What are we looking for this season from
453. 14:03the Jackals?
454. 14:04>> Uh I hope some new members first of all.
455. 14:07I know it's going to happen. Some more
456. 14:09seats in the arena hopefully.
457. 14:11And
458. 14:12uh also some inspiration some more
459. 14:14inspiration from overseas great
460. 14:17examples.
461. 14:18>> What's the vibe you're going for?
462. 14:20>> I think the vibe I'm going for is with
463. 14:23time to become something intimidating,
464. 14:26you know, something
465. 14:27powerful in the community.
466. 14:30Something inspiring as well because it
467. 14:33feels like we're in a new era of the
468. 14:35Spurs, you know, there's been different
469. 14:38momentums over the years and it feels
470. 14:39like we now we got a young core. We
471. 14:42shouldn't be a lottery team anytime soon
472. 14:45after being a lottery team for some
473. 14:46years. We're in a new era.
474. 14:48Feels like fandom for the Spurs deserves
475. 14:51also a new era, you know, and deserves
476. 14:54a new level of involvement and I want to
477. 14:56allow this the fans that want to to be
478. 14:58involved like this. And if I can show
479. 15:00them
480. 15:01a little bit of what I've seen, what
481. 15:03I've experienced first hand, if they're
482. 15:05in on it, let's go. We're going to
483. 15:07become like the the PSG ultras or the
484. 15:10the Panathinaikos, you know, one day.
485. 15:12One thing at a time, but this is what
486. 15:14I'm going for.
487. 15:15We're trying to be one of one.
488. 15:19>> You had a number of teammates that you
489. 15:21hosted in Paris over the summer. What
490. 15:23did you want to show them about your
491. 15:26country, your culture?
492. 15:29>> I wanted to show them, you know, the the
493. 15:31refinement at times, but also how I I I
494. 15:34would take care of them, you know,
495. 15:36because it's
496. 15:37it really matters to me, but it it did
497. 15:40more for me than for them that they
498. 15:42came.
499. 15:43>> Why?
500. 15:44>> Because I don't know, I just take it
501. 15:45very it goes straight to my heart.
502. 15:48>> What about the reverse? When friends and
503. 15:50family in in France say, "What's it like
504. 15:52living in the US?"
505. 15:54>> When they ask me what's what it's like
506. 15:55to live in the US, my answer is always,
507. 15:57"Well, I don't know because I I don't
508. 15:59live a normal life
509. 16:00in the US. I live the life of an
510. 16:02athlete, of a a rich person.
511. 16:04You know, the life of somebody that's
512. 16:07going to have everything taken care
513. 16:08taken care of, you know, no matter what
514. 16:10I do really.
515. 16:12So, it's not it's not the life of a an
516. 16:14regular American.
517. 16:17>> [snorts]
518. 16:17>> But, um
519. 16:18it's is the best country to be an
520. 16:20athlete in.
521. 16:21>> You acknowledge you don't live a typical
522. 16:23existence here. But, you But, even so,
523. 16:24what about this country has struck you?
524. 16:28>> Good or bad?
525. 16:29>> One of each.
526. 16:30>> Good is how, like,
527. 16:32you never It feels like you're never
528. 16:34judged
529. 16:35for being ambitious.
530. 16:36Bad, I would say, uh
531. 16:39I think the
532. 16:40social interactions
533. 16:42are more shallow here. More uh not as
534. 16:44in-depth as uh what I've seen in other
535. 16:47countries.
536. 16:49>> Jordan was 28 when he won his first
537. 16:51title. LeBron 27.
538. 16:54What's your relationship with patience?
539. 16:59>> Love-hate relationship.
540. 17:00>> Say more.
541. 17:03>> I think
542. 17:05the best
543. 17:07thing to do is to have it, to have
544. 17:08patience,
545. 17:11while trying to fight it
546. 17:13as well.
547. 17:16Basically, you trying to take all the
548. 17:18lessons that patience can bring you,
549. 17:19while trying to prove it wrong at the
550. 17:21same time, and say, "There's no reason I
551. 17:23would wait, you know."