The expectations around the first French pick in history are unleashing passions and are colossal, especially in San Antonio, 5 times NBA champion, the last time in 2014, but which remains over four seasons without playoffs.
It’s official. Victor Wembanyama, n°1 of the last draft, has as expected signed up with San Antonio. The 19-year-old French prodigy should receive around $55 million over four years, the first two of which are guaranteed, provided that Spurs activate their team option over the last two years.
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We all want to know what the 2m22 kid (his new official height) will give when he goes to rub shoulders with the monsters of the NBA. Launched into the jungle, the former player of Nanterre, ASVEL and Boulogne-Levallois is now at the time of the challenge. Assistant coach at ASVEL and in the France team, Bryan George, who will join the Atlanta Hawks, remains confident in the face of the enormous challenge that the rookie will have to take up.
« Victor, I know him all the more because I trained him for three years at Nanterre. I also had it at ASVEL. He is someone who has always taken basketball as a game. He has always enjoyed what he was doing. As long as he doesn’t change, he will always have the success he should have. »
Wembanyama, a crazy attraction in the NBA
« It’s when you put too much pressure on yourself, think too much, that the most negative things happen. I have no doubts about it. Victor is a unique character. It has always shone unintentionally. He has always attracted attention without seeking it. Her smile, her personality will continue to charm everyone. His champion mentality will allow him to show what he is capable of ».
What about managing the pressure, he who was welcomed as a real rockstar in the United States and in San Antonio? “You always wonder which way the coin will fall. I don’t worry about him. The problem of management, he has always experienced it. That shouldn’t bother him. But, like a Jokic, he will now have to learn to control his body, his actions and gestures. He will also have to stay focused on his game and his progress. »
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“He will be one of the best NBA players very quickly”
“To achieve that, he needs to stay fit and keep improving. But he is someone who is always learning. Admittedly, this may play hard on him, but the game may also please him. There is more space, easier to score. In that it will perhaps be easier for him “. Max Lefèvre, Minnesota’s assistant coach, continues the analysis:
“It all depends on what you define as success. Expectations are so high on him that he could become an All-Star, that for some people that still wouldn’t be enough. There’s so much hype around him. It even becomes a little disturbing. Victor has everything to succeed and become a great basketball player. But from there to put so much pressure on a young person who has never played in the NBA! »
The future Tony Parker stronger?
« He will be in my opinion one of the best players in the NBA very quickly, but behind there will still be steps to climb. And those will be even harder to ride. Once the draft is over, he will be able to focus on his basketball and on his way to go in the NBA. It’s going to be fun to see what he can do. »
« Everyone is curious. But it will take a little patience too. The NBA is a different world. A first season is always complicated for everyone. He will learn quickly. He is very mature in terms of personality. This will help him manage the media aspect. He also has the right environment between his agents, his relatives, to help him at this level. »
« But there’s so much hype around him that a lot of players will look to prove themselves against him by being super physical. It’s up to him not to get into this little game. He must be bigger than that. But on the physical aspect Victor is already used to it. People in the United States may not necessarily realize the physical parameter that exists in European and especially French basketball. »
« The French championship is one of the most physical in Europe if not the most physical. Victor has already taken blows and he knows how to take them. To see how he will manage this on an intense schedule of more than 80 matches ».
In order to prepare as well as possible for his burning deadlines which will come very quickly now, Wembanyama has decided not to be in the French team during the World Cup which is looming. With this determination to protect and build his body, it is clear that the countdown has already started in the NBA for this UFO of French basketball.
2023-08-25 08:28:42
#Victor #Wembanyama #Tony #Parker
