Victor Wembanyama Spurs Introductory Press Conference | June 24, 2023

We just wanted to build suspense a little bit, but the number one pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembenyama. In the 2023 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Victor Wembenyama. Best prospect to ever cross this stage. He's the real deal. He's one of those guys you just have to watch it and you'll see. You don't have to listen to it. Watch it and you know. Accomplishing something that I've been dreaming of, you know, my whole life. You've made it this far and I think you deserve it. The work you've done so far is amazing. It's incredible. I want you to keep doing the same. You give everything every day. You're good for yourself. You know, the emotion that it put in us. We checked it out. We did our thing. And then I cried. We'll give everything we have together. For you, as well as for your other brothers and sisters. You know that, of course. But you can count on us. There won't be any flaws in all the support we'll have for you. You're a NBA player, my son. Bravo, bravo. All the work you've done, you're rewarded. You deserve it. We're very, very proud of you. Those are all of your new co-workers. Thank you to our staff for coming out today. I'll be really brief. My mom taught me a long time ago to read the room. And the room is here to see this young man. But I did want to say welcome to the Wiminyama family, to Buna, to Issa, friends, coaches, all of you in attendance. Hopefully you all have felt the love dating back to draft lottery night, to arriving yesterday, and then here today. To Victor, I wanted to say to you directly, we're excited to grow with you, support you, challenge you, especially Coach Pop. There'll be a lot of challenging day. On your journey through life and basketball, your talent is obvious. But as we got to know you, the maturity, the approach, the character really showed us how special of a young man you are. And as an organization, we're extremely excited to welcome you to the city of San Antonio and to the Spurs family. Thanks, man. And with that, I'll pass it over to Jordan for questions. We'll take questions if anyone has any. We'll start with Mike Finger, San Antonio Express News right here. Hey, Victor, you mentioned the day before the draft in New York about wanting to be the best at all parts of the job, a basketball player. And I'm sure you've seen some of the murals around town, the mariachi songs written about you. Do you feel like part of that job is to immerse yourself in this community? And how do you feel like you're going to tackle that part of the job? You're right. You're right. I want to do the best I can in every aspect of the job. And, you know, as far as I've seen, the fans have been the best at their job. So, yeah, I can only hope to be at their level. And, yeah, you know, it's just there was a photo shoot before, and I got to answer the question the best I can. I got to do my best. We'll go to Jeff McDonald right here. Hey, Victor, what have the last, since you left Brooklyn, what is the last 24 hours been like for you? Has it been sort of a whirlwind type deal? You know, high on emotions, but also a lot, a lot, a lot of stuff to do. You know, after the draft, after it happened, I had like two hours of media. And then I got just to celebrate with my family. So the emotion had time to settle down a little bit. But it was a really tiring, the last 72 hours were really, really tiring. And, yeah, but it's, you know, I'm really enjoying the moment. Everyone is doing a perfect job around me. You know, everyone is doing their best. So I feel good. And so I have the least to do. Also, you know, my family and the people around me do a lot for me. And, yeah, everywhere I've been, I've been welcomed warmly. So it's just, it's really comfortable. I'm really happy to be in that position. What have you been able to do since you've got to San Antonio in those hours and days? I haven't been able to do much. You know, I've had time to eat some tacos, but that's pretty much it. You know, just unpack the luggages and, yeah, meet all the staff, meet the fans. This is the first time I've come to this arena. You know, I haven't had the time to visit at all. And lastly, what did you think about just all the fans at the airport yesterday when you landed? This is, I wasn't expecting so much from just my arrival, you know. It's really, it was a really, really fun moment. And this is what it's about, you know. This makes me happy. Go to Don Harris right here. Hey, Victor. Just really fascinated by the fact that we've never seen anybody in your height handle the ball the way you do. And I wanted to get more reflection from you on the development of that. I heard there were the Pete Marriage videos, and your mom was your first coach in teaching you about ball handling. Two, when did that start, and was mom as tough as Coach Pop? Sorry, I didn't hear you. Was mom as tough as Coach Pop? No. When did that begin? You know, I haven't experienced playing under Coach Pop yet, but I know for sure my mom wasn't as hard as him because she was only my coach when I was probably like five years old. So if she had been as tough as Coach Pop, I probably would have quit. Yeah, you know, she always knew her role, and basketball for her and for my family was always secondary, you know. The first thing was always making me grow as a person and being a good human being before being a good basketball player. But, yeah, about the Pete Marriage videos, you know, I had one of my coaches when I was 12, 13 years old. He was a big fan. He knows everything about basketball. And he was the one watching the videos and then giving us drills to do. And I just learned that coach is like a basketball fanatic. And I just learned he was at the draft. He was in Brooklyn, and he didn't even tell me. He was there. He was just watching me like a shadow, and he didn't even tell me. This is how big a fan he is. Secondly, tell us a little about your dinner with David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili last night. Yeah, probably one of the best. You know, in probably a couple hours, I learned more about the NBA than in my whole life before, you know. And it's such comforting to see that these people who are so important to the city of San Antonio and to the franchise are such kind people and generous because they genuinely wanted to share with me their experience. And, you know, yeah, I feel like they've already started to take great care of me. And it's just so comforting to be in that position. It's so comfortable, you know. And I think it's also the position Tim Duncan was in when he came in. Because he told me he just had to look up to David Robinson and Sean Elliott and follow their path. And he knew he was in good hands. We'll go right here to Tom Warsborn, Express News. Victor, what were your thoughts on the Spurs drafting Sidi and what do you think of his game? Sorry? Sidi, what was your thoughts about the Spurs drafting him and what are your thoughts about his game? You know, Sidi, I've known him for a really long time, almost 10 years now. And he's always been, like, amongst the top players of our age. Like a really, really major player on the court, you know. And, yeah, it was really hard to play against him back in the days. I haven't played against him in a long time, actually. Oh, yeah, I mean, except at the G League. And, yeah, he's really developed into, I mean, we were playing against each other at 10 years old. And now we're together in the NBA. We're going to be NBA players. So it really shows that he's developed into the man he wanted to be. We'll come over here to Larry. Wimby, welcome to San Antonio. Can you describe to us, in your own words, you as a basketball player? We've all seen the highlights out there. Can you tell us in your own words, though, who you are as a basketball player? And what are the Spurs getting in you as a young man off the court? As a basketball player, you know, I'm trying to be myself. At the same time, I'm trying to learn and be as objective as I can, you know, to become the best. But I'm also trying to be myself and not let anyone change the way I want to be and change the way I want to play. And I think this is really the way to become the best version of myself I can be as a player. So, yeah, I think I do a little bit of everything, you know. And off the court, I mean, people have been showing me love so far, a lot of love. And I think I can give all this back to the fans, to the community, to the franchise and to the city and even to the state. And, yeah, there's a lot I want to do off the court, which is a good thing because I'm probably going to retire before I'm 40 years old. So I need to make something out of my time. Bland English with Tim right here. Victor, I'm curious what the next few days are going to be like for you. I know sometimes Nike guys get called up there to go through that. And Summer League practice starts in a few days. Summer League games start in a couple of weeks. How hectic is your calendar the next few days? You know, I got a lot to do, but it's OK. It's all going to fit in the schedule. I got houses to visit, to get comfortably installed in the city. I got to go, as you said, to the Nike headquarters in Portland. Yeah, I got a couple of other things to do around the states. But most importantly, you know, lately I've had so much stuff to do off the court, like with the media, for example, that I got to go back to being really focused on practicing, on lifting, you know, because this isn't what I've done most in the past couple days. And, you know, it feels really weird. We'll do some French with Yan right here in the front. Victor, Yan Onona, the team. Can you tell us about the dinner you mentioned last night with a few Spurs legends? What did they share with you, and what did you get out of it? Thank you. It was really, as I said, one of the most enriching nights of my life, one of the best dinners of my life. I learned a lot of things in just two hours. It was really reassuring to see that these guys still live in the city, in San Antonio, they're still around the club, they still take care of the players, they still have a relationship with the franchise. It's a very comfortable situation, because there are legends, not just in the club, but in the history of the NBA, who are here to help me, and who won't let me make mistakes twice. Honestly, all the rookies, not just this year, but every year, it's probably one of the best advantages you can have. Victor, hello. Clement Rompelin for Canal+. We talk a lot about the heritage of Tim Duncan, David Robinson, but also the French heritage here in San Antonio. Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Yann Malmy. How do you perceive this heritage? Is it an asset, or is it something that can be heavy to carry? No, it's just an asset. Because, again, it's just all these French people who made history here. They're the only people I have a good relationship with, so I can go see them when I need to, and they'll be there to help me. So, no, honestly, there's no weight on that. If we look ahead to next season, how do you think being in the NBA will change your game and your body? Will it change things for you? Yes, of course. First of all, a very important factor is how much the players are taken seriously here, compared to other places in the world. We take such good care of the players that everything is done for progression and development. So, yes, my game, of course, will change. It's not the same register that I would have expected on the NBA court, where there will be the space to develop, etc. But the NBA game is what suits me best, personally. And one last question. Speaking of the legends who are still in the city, is that something you can envision for the rest of your career here? Maybe stay longer? Did the first few hours here make you want to live that, maybe? Of course, the first few hours here made me want to live in this city for a long time. Loyalty is something that is important to me. I don't know what the future will be like, but inevitably, my wish would be to stay in the same franchise for a long time. Victor, Wassim Korné for France 24. Clearly, there are a lot of expectations for you coming here to San Antonio. Have you been able to think of personal goals that you have set? I know it's sometimes difficult to separate the two. Personal goals for you as a player? Of course. Already, a goal in general will always be to mark the spirits, by the performances and also by the good performance of things. But I'm really looking forward to playing my first games, to have a lot of minutes in the NBA, before being able to set clear goals. Because it will be a day-to-day job. Hello Victor, Guillaume Nodin, RFI. Can you tell us about your arrival here yesterday, about the welcome you received? Even if you are still looking for a home, do you already feel at home? Yes, of course. Of course, I feel at home. Since I arrived, I have only seen people who were grateful that I arrived in this city. On the one hand, it is easy to acclimate to a climate where we are already appreciated. I feel at home. Thank you, Victor. I know you already got your jersey from Adam Silver, but Brian would like to give you your first San Antonio Spurs jersey. Everybody give it up for Victor Wembenyama. Thank you, Victor. Thank you all for coming, we appreciate it. We will have Victor and CD put on their uniforms. In about 30 minutes, we'll come out to the opposite back.