Victor Wembanyama ( ; born 4 January 2004) is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Considered one of the greatest basketball prospects of his generation, he was selected first overall by the Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. With a listed height of , Wembanyama is tied with Boban Marjanović as the tallest active NBA player.
Wembanyama began his professional career with Nanterre 92 of the LNB Pro A in 2019. Two years later, he moved to ASVEL and won the Pro A title in his only season with the team. In the 2022–23 season, Wembanyama signed with Metropolitans 92 and became the youngest player to win the Pro A MVP award, while earning Pro A Best Defender honors and leading the league in scoring, rebounds and blocks. He has been named an LNB All-Star twice, winning All-Star Game MVP once, and is a three-time Pro A Best Young Player.
Wembanyama also plays for the French national team. At the youth level, he has led his team to two silver medals, including at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where he set the FIBA record for blocks per game in a single tournament.
Early life and youth career
Wembanyama was born on 4 January 2004, in Le Chesnay, France. His father, Félix, is Congolese and was a track and field athlete who competed in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. His mother, Elodie de Fautereau, is a basketball coach and former player. Wembanyama's father and mother are and tall, respectively. His older sister, Eve, plays basketball professionally, and his younger brother, Oscar, has played basketball and handball at youth level. His grandfather, Michel de Fautereau, played professional basketball, and his grandmother, Marie Christine, also played the sport.
Wembanyama played football as a goalkeeper and practised judo before focusing on basketball. He learned to play basketball from his mother, who was coaching youth teams. At age seven, Wembanyama began playing for Entente Le Chesnay Versailles, before joining the youth system of Nanterre 92 at age 10. He drew the attention of Nanterre in 2013 after Michaël Allard, a youth coach for the club, noticed him on the bench at an under-11 game due to his exceptional height, at , initially mistaking him for a coach. In February 2018, Wembanyama was loaned to FC Barcelona for the Minicopa del Rey, an under-14 tournament in Spain, leading his team to third place. He declined an offer to continue his career with Barcelona, citing that the coaches were not willing to challenge him.
Professional career
Nanterre 92 (2019–2021) In the 2019–20 season, Wembanyama gained his first professional experience with the Nanterre 92 senior team under head coach Pascal Donnadieu, receiving limited playing time in two games. He primarily competed in LNB Espoirs, the French under-21 league, and also played for the under-18 team. Wembanyama made his professional debut on 29 October 2019, playing 31 seconds against Brescia in the EuroCup. At 15 years, nine months and 25 days old, he was the second-youngest player after Stefan Petković to play in the EuroCup. In February 2020, Wembanyama played for Nanterre's under-18 team at the Kaunas qualifying tournament for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT). On 8 February, he posted 22 points, 15 rebounds and an ANGT-record nine blocks in a win over the under-18 team of Zaragoza. Wembanyama averaged 15.8 points, 12 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and six blocks per game in Kaunas, leading the tournament in blocks and earning all-tournament team honours. He finished the Espoirs season averaging 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, mostly coming off the bench.