Since the legendary Yao Ming (2.29m) triumphed in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, no other giant had aroused so much expectation in China. And that’s saying a lot in a country of more than 1.4 billion people. Victor Wembanyama, the 2.24m alien from the San Antonio Spurs, who is currently on vacation there, has managed to attract all the attention because of his height and because of the mutation that his look has undergone.
The gigantic French center will spend 10 days in China, something that might seem normal in a trip that many sports stars make to that country to promote the NBA. But the novelty of his visit is that, in addition to training, he has entered the Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, where he will spend his stay to study Chan meditation and learn about Shaolin kung-fu, traditional Chinese medicine and other cultural features of the country.
Shaved and dressed as a monk
It’s not a pose. In fact, Wembanyama has taken it very seriously, to the point of shaving his head and wearing the same clothing as the monks to be one more in the temple. Although logically his presence has not gone unnoticed by the media, the NBA or the tourists who visit the shrine and are impressed to see the tallest monk in history.
The NBA office in China confirmed Wembanyama’s presence at the temple, and some Chinese media reported on his stay. “Focus on training!”, said the headline of a post on the NBA’s Weibo account, which also revealed plans for his 10-day stay there.
Meditate surrounded by Buddha sculptures
Photos of the French giant with a shaved head (he was not shaved when he arrived in China) and wearing a robe similar to that of the other monks are circulating on social networks. One of the photos showed the 2.23-meter-tall center sitting on a Chinese-style chair in front of several sculptures of Buddha
He also did some sightseeing at the beginning of his trip. “Victor Wembanyama, live from China, on the Great Wall itself, is having a great time. It’s crazy,” said a video posted on Instagram by the Spurs account
If Caine, the martial arts expert played by David Carradine from the famous 1970s TV series Kung Fu, had come across Wemby in the Shaolin temple where he lived, he would have been amazed. And his wise blind master would never have been able to say to the Frenchman his famous phrase “little grasshopper”.
He is expected in the Summer League… and in the Eurobasket
Wembanyama is expected to return to the United States in the coming weeks and will likely be part of the Spurs’ delegation attending the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month. The Spurs, like many teams, usually have many players on their NBA roster with the summer league team for various events.
The 21-year-old Frenchman led the NBA in blocked shots during the regular season, despite his season ending in February, just after his first All-Star appearance, due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The Spurs hope he can play at the start of next season, and the French national team has also expressed its desire for Wembanyama to represent his country in the European Championship this summer (August 27 to September 14).
Statistics on par with Abdul-Jabbar
Wembanyama was the Rookie of the Year last season and was expected to be one of the favorites for the Defensive Player of the Year award this season, in which he attempted 403 three-pointers and blocked 176 shots (no player in NBA history has finished a season with those numbers) and had averaged 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists when he was diagnosed with DVT. He is the second player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all those numbers. The first was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1975-76 campaign.
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