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Intensive training with his teammates, discreet dinner in town with family, only one interview planned on American TV: Victor Wembanyama has chosen the reserve for his return to San Antonio, where he is preparing for a fourth season under very high expectations with the Spurs, now among the favorites for the NBA championship title next June.
Legion Hoops: J.Cole shouts out the Spurs in San Antonio: “Y’all get to witness greatness. Ya’ll done seen Spurs dynasties and sh*t. Looks like y’all might have another one on the way with that motherfu**er Victor Wembanyama.”
Jokic was simply asked to clarify who is the best defender against him in the NBA. Serbian center shortly said "Everyone," before naming a full list of different players: "Everyone. Some teams defend very well as a unit, while others have excellent individual defenders. Zubac guards me really well, and so does Nurkic. I guess they’re just bulkier, so I can’t move them when we’re battling for position," he said. "I think Rudy Gobert is a great defender, even though I’ve historically played well against him. Jalen Duren, he’s undersized but tricky. Wendell Carter Jr. is also on the shorter side, and Myles Turner blocks a lot of shots. There’s no need to even talk about Wembanyama. They’re all good; the league is talented on both ends of the floor."
From a culture perspective, having someone like Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark, and Derek Rose be the cover athletes for you guys this year, just talk to me about why they kind of embodied what you guys wanted in cover athletes. Ronnie 2K: Yeah, three very prominent names in their sport, obviously three number one draft picks. Three players that speak loud on the court very bold and they mean a lot to their particular eras. It just seemed like the perfect time to kind of put that trio together. Having Caitlin as part of the introduction to Co-Ed City is really exciting and she was so overwhelmed to hear that we were doing it now. Wemby is, how he's changed the game, how he is just really at the start of the trajectory of his development and still so overwhelmingly such a force in the league has been really great. And I've gotten to know Wemby a lot more during this campaign, the mental game surrounded by the physical game and how he values 2K in that has just been really cool to see. We were out in Paris a couple weeks ago and we did the Hoop Gambit Foundations event and we partnered chess and mindfulness and being centered around 2K. And one of the things he said was, “when you're centered, you think 12 steps ahead, which is what speaks so well to how you play 2K.” And I was like, “yeah, that's exactly right.” So I think putting those, it's just a great trio. Obviously, Derrick Rose speaks for himself, the career he had and his love for the game and how he's invested into youth sports now. It's very, very cool to have those three involved.
In an interview for Sports Illustrated, the retired former NBA superstar revealed that he actively rooted for the Knicks to win the championship. "I kind of had them winning the entire time," Rose admitted. "My son is a Jalen [Brunson] fan. So he was cheering for them the whole playoffs. I called Rick [Brunson] right before they got to the Finals and told him that they was going to play against Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] now. And if they was going to play against them, that they was going to win."
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Myles Turner: "The first person that pops in my head is obviously Victor Wembanyama. The reason I say this is not just because of his basketball talent, it's because the way he represents himself, the things he does off the floor, the person that he becomes. As an NBA representative, you have to be a humanitarian. You have to be someone that is highly marketable, someone that is recognizable, but also someone that doesn't have much drama off the floor. Wembanyama has done an amazing job of keeping his family first."
Anthony Slater: "The Warriors have presented him these options. The one thing I will tell you from talking to people this weekend is they are not negotiating with Stephen Curry right now. They are saying, you can do this, you can do this, you can do this. If you want the one-year max, if you want the two-year max, if you want to wait, here's your menu, pick off your menu." Tim MacMahon: "It's like it's different ends of the career and different negotiations, but it's the same thing the Spurs did with Victor Wembanyama. It's hey, you're going to make the decision, but here's the different options. Here's why option B can do in terms of flexibility, X, Y, and Z. So yeah, it's like you said, there's not negotiation here. It's these are the options and this is what we can do with them."
Last week, Victor Wembanyama was asked for his thoughts on the 2027 French presidential election, in which right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) — formerly known as the National Front — party leader Marine Le Pen leads the polls to succeed Emmanuel Macron. “As the years go by, I have fewer and fewer filters, and I’m less and less afraid to say what I think,” Wembanyama said in French to reporters last week. “I haven’t looked into the presidential election closely enough, but I’m not afraid to share my opinion, either. I’m not afraid of upsetting people.”
After leading France to a dominant Window 4 of the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers, Victor Wembanyama is now shifting his focus to going back to San Antonio. As such, the superstar simply can't wait to finally rejoin the Spurs and continue their work ahead of the highly anticipated 2026-27 NBA season. "It doesn’t change the fact that I’m still really excited to return to San Antonio and get back to work," Wembanyama told L'Equipe. "There’s nowhere else quite like it when it comes to putting in the work."
Evan Fournier on Victor Wembanyama: "He's a global megastar, but day-to-day, he's a great guy, focused on others, who really wants to perform. The fact that he's here, I won't lie, has been a motivation for me to keep going. Seeing a kid who wants to achieve things and puts in the work is inspiring... I don't want to come just for the sake of coming."
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Is it nostalgia? Joy? Victor Wembanyama: A little bit, yes. Well, more like nostalgia, yes and no. That doesn't change the fact that I'm still very excited to be back in San Antonio and to get back to work. There's nowhere else like it to work.
Is it frustrating having to leave the French national team and not rejoining them for another year? Victor Wembanyama: Absolutely. A lot of frustration. I didn't expect it to be this much, but seeing these guys again, whom I've known for so long, feels so good. It's going to feel strange not being with them anymore. It's been a long time since I've been with the French national team. I was also in a different role. I think I've gotten older, without even realizing it, since then. I'm coming back to appreciate the good things (smiles).
“I don’t know if it’s relieved me. I think I’m just calmer,” Fournier replies. “I’m not going to say I’m getting old (laughs) , but… As you get older, you understand things better, you put them into perspective. My role? I can be the player who makes sure everything is in order. If we lack aggression, if we need to establish a half-court offense, put the ball where it needs to be, I can make sure of that… People think I’m just a scorer, but I can do a lot of things. If necessary, I can still score. Well, okay, maybe not 28 points against the USA (laughs) (2021 Olympics, France won 83-76) . ” I no longer see myself as the super aggressive player all the time. I think the main challenge will be determining, beyond Victor (Wembanyama), who will do what. With Rudy, we need to facilitate the transition, bridge the gap with the coach. I'm a veteran; I have more "insider knowledge" to share. Few have experience at this level, and it's crucial. In any case, it won't stop me from remaining the person I've always been.
France defeated Sweden 79-69 in Stockholm to record their seventh win in eight games of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers.
