A mixed first NBA match for the “extraterrestrial” Victor Wembanyama

Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, a basketball prodigy arousing immense expectations, lost the first NBA game of his career with the San Antonio Spurs against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday evening in San Antonio (126-119). The 19-year-old finished the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Published on: 10/26/2023 – 07:57

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The first outing wasn’t flamboyant, but at least it passed. Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, basketball prodigy at the center of all attention, lost in his NBA debut on Wednesday, October 25, with the San Antonio Spurs against the Dallas Mavericks (126-119), combining promise and frustration.

Since May, when the Spurs inherited the first choice of player for the draft, San Antonio fans have dreamed of this moment: Victor Wembanyama, on the floor, white tank top emblazoned with N.1, in a room where The jerseys of the legends of the Texan franchise are enthroned, such as that of Frenchman Tony Parker.

During the warm-up, “Wemby” sat on a chair for a few seconds, his head down, when all the other players were busy, a little moment of solitude and concentration before his life turned upside down. “Tonight really marks the beginning,” he summed up.

For his first ball after the jump ball, he flew to block a shot from Dallas star point guard Kyrie Irving. A good example of the defensive threat that his size and his endless arms bring, for someone who is called to “revolutionize” the game.

“Maybe I wanted to do too well”

After three and a half minutes of play in the first quarter, the child from Chesnay-Rocquencourt (Yvelines) scored the first basket of his three-point NBA adventure. Two symbolic actions of its unique combination of size and dexterity.

The rest proved frustrating for “Wemby”. Not always served by his teammates, the Frenchman had few opportunities to stand out, before completely missing his third quarter, where two consecutive offensive fouls sent him to the bench (4 in total at this time -there, while 6 faults are eliminatory). A 5th immediate foul at the start of the 4th quarter sent him to the bench, limiting his total playing time to 23 minutes (out of 48).

“Maybe I wanted to do too well, I didn’t put my energy into the right things. I don’t need to put as much energy into defense. I’m learning for a first match,” said commented the Frenchman at a press conference.

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His animal comeback at the end of the match woke up his team and exploded the audience with nine points in the last period including a furious dunk, for a total of 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, but also 5 lost balls .

Not enough for Spurs stunned at the end of the match by the class and experience of two seasoned champions, the Slovenian Luka Doncic in triple-double (33 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) and Kyrie Irving (22 points).

“We didn’t want to miss this”

A difficult match for Victor Wembanyama, symbol that the road to success will be long in the NBA for the Spurs, a team in reconstruction which finished last in the Western Conference last season (22 victories in 82 matches).

Regardless, the Wemby effect is already significant, with supporters committed to its cause. Laura and Émile Forestier, engineer and history teacher, came from Lille to see it. “We didn’t want to miss this. We hope he has a great career ahead of him, that he becomes an NBA star,” they told AFP.

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Mark Burnett, an alien mask on his head, stands out in the stadium, having had an alien tattooed on his arm as well as the signature of the Frenchman, whom he met a few weeks ago. A tribute to the words of LeBron James, who called the Frenchman “alien” earlier this year.

Advantage of the NBA and its extremely dense regular season, Victor Wembanyama will have the opportunity on Friday to forget his first match with the reception of the Houston Rockets.

With AFP