Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, left, drives against Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during a game in April. Wembanyama will be a big attraction at the Olympics in Paris. Eric Gay/Associated Press PARIS — Sports are often a secondary attraction in Paris, with athletes having a difficult time standing out in a cultural sphere driven largely by food, fashion and the arts.
Victor Wembanyama may use the Paris Olympics to be the first homegrown sports star to dismantle that dynamic. The 7-foot-4 French-born phenom made San Antonio Spurs games must-see viewing as a rookie this past season, boosting his already swelling global brand. Now the 20-year-old is returning home for the Paris Games as by far the biggest name in his country’s Olympic delegation.
Wembanyama literally will be a center of attention this month, and not just because of what he can do on the court, but because he’s become a central figure with the charisma to draw in ardent sports fans and casual French citizens alike. “I tend to underestimate the fan enthusiasm for me. I don’t pay more attention to it than that,” Wembanyama said recently.
“But when I returned to France a few weeks ago for the first time, I felt the enthusiasm of the public that was different from before.” The arrival of “Wemby” in the NBA, the world’s premier basketball league, was anticipated for years as his reputation and skill set stood out while he rose through the ranks of French basketball. It was not unlike the rise of 2.