During the night from Saturday to Sunday, Victor Wembanyama will make his return to the NBA courts, under the lights of Las Vegas. Saturday at 6 p.m. local time (3 a.m. Sunday in Paris), the Texans face the formidable Oklahoma City Thunder in the semi-final of the NBA Cup. Barring a last minute mishap, “Wemby” will return to competition after a month off (12 matches) for a left calf injury. He had already missed the end of last season due to venous thrombosis.
“I feel good and I’m ready,” assured the 21-year-old Frenchman during a press conference that began 8 minutes late, the exception of a day regulated to the millimeter, the privilege of a superstar returning sweaty from a cardio exercise.
“Brained my brakes”
In front of around forty journalists, the pivot explained how hard it had been to watch the last month “from the sofa”, despite an injury which had caused “almost no pain”. “It was hard to see the team on the road, experiencing things, growing. I was champing at the bit for a long time but it’s over,” he smiled.
The Frenchman “trusted” the Spurs medical team, known for their caution, admitting that he would have “come back sooner” if the decision had been solely in his hands. “I am the most attentive injured person in the world. I want to see all the imaging, all the analyses, I want to make sure there is no negligence,” he half-joked.
“Wemby” returns to Las Vegas after the 2023 Summer League, where he was exposed as the freshest number 1 in the draft and two exhibition matches in October 2022 with the Metropolitans 92. If he is of legal age this time, there is little chance of meeting Wembanyama (21 years old) this weekend in one of the casinos of “Sin City”, which this science fiction lover had compared to a “dystopia”.
“Accumulating money has never been my goal in life,” assured the basketball player on Friday with his first comfortable contract ($55 million over 4 years), when asked about the thick bonus promised to the winners of the Cup ($530,000), created in 2023.
Limited play time
The demon of the game, “Wemby” only listens to him on the floor, where his time will be limited on Saturday, explained his coach Mitch Johnson, who expects “fatigue” from his French jewel. “We want players with a competitive spirit who are hungry for matches, but it is also our job, at the medical level, from the organization of the staff, to play bad guys”, if the circumstances require it, added the successor of Gregg Popovich.
On Saturday, the challenge will be immense against the Thunder, undefeated for 16 games and at the head of a record record since the start of the season (24 wins – 1 loss). But the Spurs have “surpassed expectations” since the restart, launched De’Aaron Fox, with a 5th place in the West (17-7). “We managed to play well without him, but his return will benefit us offensively and defensively, we want him to stay himself,” added the All-Star leader.
The Frenchman’s return against Oklahoma City promises to be brutal, even if the cleaver match format seems “natural” to him. “I have experienced a lot with the national team, among the young people, in the French Championship. I trust myself, my subconscious has proven to me over the years that I don’t need to think too much about the finals or the semi-finals,” explained the silver medalist from the Paris Olympic Games.
