By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
An Eiffel Tower made by Lego on the side of the press conference panel was sending the right message. A towering presence from France has arrived in San Antonio to make the Spurs relevant again.
And the Spurs already welcomed him, as one of their own. On Friday, Victor Wembanyama was taken to a team dinner with Spurs staffers as well as team legends Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Manu Ginobili.
“Probably in a couple hours, I learned more about the NBA than my whole life before that,” Wembanyama said at a news conference at AT&T Center on Saturday afternoon. “It’s so comforting to see these people who are so important to the city of San Antonio and the franchise are such great people and generous. They genuinely wanted to share their experience. I feel like they’ve already started to take great care of me. It’s so important to be in a position where it’s so comfortable.”
Wembanyama and fellow Frenchman Sidy Cissoko, the Spurs’ only other draft pick who was taken No. 44 overall, were introduced to the city of San Antonio at an event on the famous from the championship celebrations Riverwalk.
A little bit later, general manager Brian Wright wasn’t shy with his words.
“I wanted to say to you directly, we’re excited to grow with you, support you, challenge you — especially coach [Gregg Popovich] – on your journey through life and basketball,” Wright said. “Your talent is obvious. But as we got to know you, the maturity, the approach, the character, it let us know how special of a young man you are.”
It’s been a wild ride and it’s just starting for the latest no.1 which is destined for greatness.
“The last 72 hours have been really tiring,” Wembanyama said. “But I’m really enjoying the moment. Everybody is doing a perfect job around me. Everybody is doing their best. I have my family and the people around me who love me. Everywhere I’ve been I’ve been welcomed warmly. It’s really comfortable. I’m really happy to be in this position.”