Wembanyama in the NBA: “You can see right away that he is not afraid to be the center of attention”

On the occasion of the draft, which was held this Thursday evening in New York and which consecrated Victor Wembanyama, chosen in first position by the San Antonio Spurs, the boss of the NBA, with a perfectly recognizable face, returned to Le Parisien on this historic night for French basketball.

What does the first choice of this draft, which was for the first time in history on a Frenchman, inspire in you?

ADAM SILVER. This shows very well how international our League has become. Even before he was drafted, Victor was already known all over the planet. It’s unique! To have that impact at such a young age is remarkable. He has such an interesting personality. He will be judged on his skills as a basketball player, of course, but there is so much more to him: I really enjoyed talking to him, including topics outside of basketball, like his concerns about the water supply drinkable everywhere on the planet. Fans know him as a basketball player but when they get to know him as a person, they’ll love him. He is French, and he will quickly be adopted as a citizen of the world.

Can he help the NBA grow even more?

Our best players, regardless of their nationality, become global icons. Victor is French and it shows in his way of being. He’s going to bring to the NBA the qualities that your country is known for. It will quickly be adopted by everyone. He already has a lot of followers on social networks but it will be much more important when we start to see him on the American courts.

What are your earliest memories of him?

I discovered him when he was 16 (Editor’s note: he is 19 today) but I waited until last January, in Paris, to meet him. What struck me about him was his maturity. I have met many players over the past 30 years, but he has this calm, this composure, this thoughtfulness too. You can see right away that he’s not afraid to be the center of attention. I liked, for example, that he went to throw that ball at the Yankees the other night. It’s not his main sport, but he went there, had fun without fear of failing, and I think great players have this quality: to accept competition, to recognize the risks and to learn from failures.

Is it important for the NBA that players sometimes hold a political role or speech?

Yes. It’s not something we absolutely push players to do, but it’s important that players feel free to express their own personality. They know that whatever their passion, be it the environment or politics, they can do it safely. And it’s useful for the public to connect with them: one of the goals of our League is to increase our audience, beyond basketball fans, and one of the ways is to be able to feel close to ideas and the life of a player, beyond victories and defeats, but also in the difficulties of life, the ups and downs. This new generation of players, not just Victor, seems much more responsible to me than the previous ones. They have been exposed to so much more than others before them.

How can the League better help these players bear the pressure on their shoulders?

Victor has a very solid team around him, all very great professionals. Its very important. In San Antonio, the organization is also very well structured. They have the experience of developing great players. I’m not at all worried about Victor. Especially since we have a players’ union that does remarkable things, where players can confide in if necessary. We also have programs designed to teach them how to manage their money. It might be desirable if there were less pressure on Victor’s shoulders, but he is very connected to reality.

Can we imagine Spurs in Paris in the future?

Yes ! I don’t know when, it won’t be next year because things are already defined, but we are working on Victor coming with his future franchise. We are well aware that French fans would love to see Wemby play in France and I’m sure Spurs will be very excited about the idea as well.

When will a French coach in the NBA?

This is a very good question to which I do not have the answer! Our championship has clearly become internationalized: more than 25% of players were born outside the United States. It is inevitable that the benches are also open, whether to foreigners or also to female coaches at the head of a team. There’s no reason that can’t happen. With more international players in the League, there is a greater chance that there will also be foreign managers managing them.

France placed two players in the top 10 of the draft. How do you view French basketball?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence. You are a relatively small country compared to other countries in the world. But you have such an important tradition of sport in your country, as well as many infrastructures that help these young athletes to achieve their potential. This is, moreover, one of the compliments I addressed to President Macron when I met him in January: the NBA can also learn a lot from France, by being increasingly involved in programs aimed at youth, or by looking at how you managed to develop all these young athletes. Victor is a good example of this: he’s so much more than a basketball player, and it seems pretty obvious that he’s had great coaches throughout his journey.