PARIS — The young man who could be the next big star of American sports has left a towering reputation at home.
Victor Wembanyama has long been seen as basketball royalty in the making, with fans and experts buzzing on both sides of the Atlantic about a prospect some view as the best to enter the league since LeBron James.
The 19-year-old Frenchman — who stands 7-foot-4 and has a wingspan of 8 feet — was selected as the first pick in Thursday's draft by the San Antonio Spurs.
And those who know him best, like Vincent Collet, the coach of the French national team, who also worked with him daily at the Paris team Metropolitans 92, expect even greater things once he takes his "special" talents to North America.
“When you are so tall, plus you have skills and ability to move well, which was the case, obviously, you know that this kid is special and will be something special after,” Collet told NBC News last Wednesday.
Wembanyama's height, which means he can almost grab the rim without even jumping, is, of course, a factor. But Collet, who made him his captain, added that he also has a good engine, which allows him to get up and down the court with ease.
“Victor has the same skills as a guard but with a body of real big men,” he said, adding he had never coached a player with so much talent.
French sports journalist Erwan Abautret, who has covered Wembanyama since he was a youngster, agreed that he was a “phenomenon.”
Describing him as the “complete package,” Abautret said that as well as being good at fundamentals like shooting, passing and dribbling, Wembanyama has “the attitude, too.”
“The main thing is he’s a leader,” he said, adding that in his last season with the Metropolitans, Wembanyama played with much older teammates and talked to them like a father figure. When the team was struggling, he said, Wembanyama told them, “Let’s go, let’s stay together.”
Wembanyama will hope to emulate other European talents who have become leading stars in the NBA, such as reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, both of whom have won recent titles.
Asked about his NBA future at a recent news conference, Wembanyama appeared humble.
“I’m living my dream right now, and I hope I can share this with the maximum people I can, you know, and I wish I can give fans a bit of what I’m living right now, this fun,” he said.
And off the court, Collet said, Wembanyama, born in the Parisian suburb of Le Chesnay, was well grounded.
His father, Felix Wembanyama, is a former field athlete, and his mother, Elodie de Fautereau, is an ex-basketball player who is now a coach, according to Olympics.com.
His older sister, Eve, 21, a basketball player with Monaco, won gold with France at the FIBA U16 European championships in 2017. Scouts are also monitoring his younger brother, Oscar, 16.
“He’s a very smart kid,” Collet said of Victor. “He’s often reading books.” He said Wembanyama preferred “to read and learn,” rather than play computer games like some of his peers. “I think that’s one of the things that makes him special,” Collet said.
He added that it was unlikely he’ll coach another player of Wembanyama’s caliber again.
“I am too close from being retired, so I don’t think I have a chance to live that a second time,” he said.