Impatient after a month of watching his team “from the couch”Victor Wembabo ” ready “ for his return on Saturday in the semi-final of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas, a decisive match in which the pressure seems to him “natural”.
Black tank top and sweatpants, gray sleeve on his right arm, Wembanyama, his head perched at 2.24 m which protrudes in the middle of the scrum, leads the collective cry at the end of San Antonio Spurs training Friday in the T-Mobile Arena in the city of Nevada.
Saturday at 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. Sunday Paris time), the Texans face the formidable Oklahoma City Thunder in the semi-final of the NBA Cup. Barring a last minute mishap, Wembanyama will return to competition after a month off (12 matches) for a left calf injury, having already missed the end of last season for a 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, “Wemby” explained how hard it had been to watch the last month “from the couch”despite an injury which had not caused “almost no pain”.
“It was hard to see the team on the road, experiencing things, growing. I’ve been champing at the bit for a long time but it’s over.”he smiled.
The Frenchman did ” trust “ to the Spurs medical team, known for its caution, admitting that it would be “returned earlier” if the decision had been solely in his hands.
“I trusted but I am the most attentive wounded person in the world. I want to see all the imaging, all the analyses, I want to make sure that there is no negligence”he half-joked.
“Wemby” returns to Las Vegas after the 2023 Summer League, where he was exposed as a fresh N.1 in the draft, and two exhibition matches in October 2022 with the Metropolitans 92, when he was already the object of all curiosities in the United States.
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 was never 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” listens only on a floor, where his time will be limited on Saturday despite his burning desire, explained his coach Mitch Johnson, who expects to “fatigue” at 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, in the organization of the staff, to play bad guys”if circumstances require it, added Gregg Popovich’s successor.
On Saturday, the challenge will be immense against the Thunder, undefeated for 16 matches and at the head of a record record since the start of the season (24 wins – 1 loss).
But the Spurs have “exceeded expectations” since the restart, launched De’Aaron Fox, with a 5th place in the West (17-7).
“We managed to play well without him (Wembanyama), but his return will bring us offensively and defensively, we want him to stay himself”added the All-Star point guard.
The Frenchman’s return against Oklahoma City promises to be brutal, even if the match format seems to him to be a chopping block. « naturel ».
“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.”developed the silver medalist of the Paris Olympic Games.
For a possible final on Tuesday, he would face the New York Knicks or the Orlando Magic, opposed earlier on Saturday.
