On the sidelines of the NBA matches that he will play with the Spurs this week, Victor Wembanyama was welcomed in the spotlight in his birthplace, Le Chesnay, in Yvelines, to inaugurate two basketball courts. Appearing smiling on the colorful field, the 21-year-old midfielder took part in the autograph game with the children who came to cheer him.
“The most important thing is you, the children, the students, who motivated this project“, declared “Wemby”, alongside the city's mayor Richard Delepierre. “It was a dream of mine to have a quality free-play court to be able to play basketball growing up.“, added Wembanyama, at the origin of this project including the construction of a court and another 3×3 basketball court.
“We met Victor's family and agents during the summer and they told us of his wish to be able to create this field for the young people of the town.“, explains Richard Delepierre to AFP. The project, “for a total of 500,000 euros” was 80% financed by Spurs and their “Spurs Give” foundation – 20% by the Chesnay town hall – and was implemented in a few months.
-“This is the first time that we have had a very high level athlete who has asked us to create equipment, it is a very innovative project in many respects“, continues Richard Delepierre. Six months after the Olympic Games where he won silver with the Blues, Victor Wembanyama is back in France, and in Bercy where he will play two regular season matches with the Spurs on Thursday and Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.
Arriving with his club on Monday, he took part in a first training session in Nanterre, where he was trained and made his professional debut at the age of 15. At the heart of a week full of events, he will also be expected on Tuesday evening, at the Louis Vuitton fashion show for Fashion Week.
