Victor Wembanyama has been busy since landing in San Antonio.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 20223 NBA Draft received the royal treatment, dining with Spurs greats and sporting his full NBA uniform for the first time.
The 7-foot-4 phenom is feeling right at home.
“It’s comforting to see that these people who are so important to the city of San Antonio and to the franchise are such kind people and generous,” Wembanyama said in his Saturday introductory conference.
“They genuinely wanted to share with me their experience and I feel like they’ve already started to take great care of me.”
Wembanyama caught up with former Spurs Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Manu Ginobili over dinner and said he learned more about the NBA in those hours than he had known in his whole life.
Duncan, who won five NBA championships with the Spurs, can especially relate to Wembanyama as he was San Antonio’s No. 1 overall pick in 1997. Robinson was also selected No. 1 over by San Antonio back in 1986.
Wembanyama posted a picture of the group on Twitter.
“Couldn’t ask for better role models,” he wrote.
Those within the Spurs organization aren’t the only ones welcoming the 19-year-old with open arms, it seems the city has already embraced their new star big man.
A San Antonio fan spray painted a mural of Wembanyama in a Spurs jersey, and head coach Gregg Popovich reportedly happened to drive by while the artist was working on it.
“I want to do the best I can in every aspect of the job,” Wembanyama said. “As far as I have seen, the fans have been the best at their job, so I can only hope to be at their level.”
Wembanyama debuted his No. 1 jersey while shooting around at the AT&T Center after his press conference.
Unlike Duncan, who said he leaned on Robinson for guidance when first arriving in San Antonio, Wembanyama doesn’t have any certified stars on the roster to follow.
Wembanyama is the centerpiece of the Spurs’ rebuild that has young talent as its headline with players like 2022 No. 9 overall pick Jeremy Sochan, 2020 Olympic Golden Medalist Keldon Johnson and ignitable shooting guard Devin Vassell.
Wembanyama plans to still participate in the NBA Summer League –– albeit, to what extent, he’s not sure.
The newest Spur has also voiced his desire to play in the FIBA World Cup, which will be hosted by Japan, The Philippines and Indonesia from late August into September, representing France before the NBA season gets underway.
