a “perfect evening, with victory and style”

He knew he was expected. A bit like the tickets for matches hidden by his teams in France, Victor Wembanyama has been the object, for a week, of a fierce hunt in Paris. We saw him in Nanterre, stretching with elastics, ball juggler at the Parc des Princes, then in the courtyard of the Louvre for a fashion show. And Thursday January 23, a simple “Good evening Paris” on his part was enough to capsize the Paris-Bercy sports center (Accor Arena). For the first evening of the NBA Paris Games 2025 diptych, the new star of world basketball lit up his meeting with the French public, leading his San Antonio Spurs team to a big victory against the Indiana Pacers (140-110).

Victor Wembanyama is not used to hiding. No doubt because its 2.24 m are hardly suitable for concealment, but not only that. If he did not hide his excitement at the idea of ​​introducing his partners to his country, and he took great advantage of his Parisian getaway, the player only had“a priority” : basketball. And his day Thursday was entirely devoted to it, to stay in his bubble. “I knew he was going to have a great match, because when he came, Victor wanted to play his music, French sound, so I knew he was very excited by this meeting, joked his partner Harrison Barnes after the game. But despite the atmosphere, his family and his friends in the stands, he remained extremely focused. » Also the Indiana Pacers paid the price for a Frenchman “sensational”in the words of opposing coach Rick Carlisle.

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