NBA

Victor Wembanyama about coming to the NBA: ‘There was a little regret leaving the Euroleague, but I made the best choice’

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By
Antonio Kozlow
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Antonio Kozlow Sports Editor

Antonio is a life long sports enthusiast and professional journalist, who shares an obssesive urge to find and dig up the most interesting facts to guide gamblers towards more exciting, yet safe bets. In his own words, ''you can never really know enough about the things you love''.

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Sports Editor

Updated17 Apr 2023

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This next offseason, Victor Wembanyama is the player that every NBA franchise desires, as the French sensation is locked for the No.1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft to be held in June. In a very mature and articulate interview with Europe’s “First Team”, the player revealed what he expects to achieve in his career, what’s his relationship with the press, and the way he sees the sport. 

The 19-year-old hasn’t even stepped on a NBA court, and he’s already been followed by millions of basketball fans from all over the world, as expectation grows due to his incredible physique and versatility on the floor. Just last week, he ranked 8th in a list for most-viewed players on social media this season.

After leaving Tony Parker’s ASVEL, the young player signed for the Metropolitans 92 and now has been preparing to leave the Euroleague behind. He says that having a team built around him and playing only one game a week, have been two vital elements that have helped him prepare individually for the NBA.

Even though he sometimes wishes he would stay and be tested a bit longer in Europe before crossing the Atlantic Ocean, he believes he’s made the right decision. “There was a little regret leaving the EuroLeague but in hindsight, there was no reason for that.

“As a competitor, I would have liked to taste a little more of European competition but I had to make a choice and I made the best choice,” he said.

Even though French basketball icon Tony Parker recently said that the player hasn’t improved that much this campaign, Wembanyama begs to differ. “I know Tony, there’s no animosity between us,” the 19-year-old cleared the air. “Media can distort a few things sometimes but he knows that I progressed in a different role and even the numbers and the standings. I have an important role on a team that is very well-ranked”.

Take a look at the full interview in the following YouTube video:

And what he says is true, as the Metropolitans 92 currently stand above ASVEL in the French league’s second place, only behind Monaco who’ve already qualified to the Euroleague playoffs.

The player’s ambition is to push the limits of basketball and change the game

For Wembanyama, he’s concentrating in pushing the limits of the sport and develop his game in a unique way. The young sensation has been coaching with many basketball greats, including Dirk Nowitzki’s former personal trainer Holger Geschwindner.

The center, who can also play as a guard, hopes to anticipate what the evolution of basketball will be, trying to mature his best assets and rejecting to limit his potential to a box.“When I was playing at U14, we went to Spain for a tournament and the coach wanted me to play like a traditional pivot,” he explained. “Defend, block, rebound the ball, and give it to the point guard. That was the extreme and thankfully only for just one week.

“But the coaches always have this little pressure to win games even at younger ages and want to play it safe,” he continued. “So they would say ‘Victor don’t do that” and it’s mental, it’s unconscious. For me that would be the biggest mistake, to put myself in a box’.”

The young player also took the time to show his appreciation for his current coach and also French national team boss Vincent Collet.