Victor Wembanyama is such a gifted player that calling him a unicorn became underwhelming. Fans and avid watchers dubbed him ‘The Alien’ because of how absurd his skillset is despite having a recorded height of 7-foot-4. His journey from France to the San Antonio Spurs was not a cakewalk at all. How did he get all this acclaim and love all over the world?

Athleticism runs in the blood

Before Victor was born, his family was already a menace to any sport. His mother’s parents, Michel de Fautereau and Marie-Christine rocked the world of handball. Felix Wembanyama, his father, was also a star in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump in his youth. It was Eloide, Victor’s mom, who started his love for basketball though. She played professionally and even ended up coaching after her retirement.

Victor was born to absurdly tall parents. His dad stands at 6-foot-6 while his mom’s height is 6-foot-3. It was evident right when he was born on January 4, 2004, in Le Chesnay, France that he would also inherit his parents’ very lengthy stature. Not to mention, he also had very competitive siblings with his older sister, Eve, playing professional basketball too. His younger brother Oscar is also a rising name in basketball and handball.

All of this pushed Victor to become a multi-sport athlete. He played football, judo, and basketball all at the same time when he was still very young. Eventually, he chose to pursue a career on the hardcourt over these other endeavors when he joined Nanterre 92 after Michael Allard scouted him.

He made the choice to stick with Nanterre 92 but got loaned out to FC Barcelona. There were rumblings of him following in the footsteps of Luka Doncic in the Euroleague but nothing much came out of it. It was because Victor felt like the Spanish coaches were not giving him enough of a challenge.

Teenage Professional

Victor started his professional basketball career at just the age of 15. In fact, his run with Nanterre 92 at the EuroCup made him the second youngest player to have ever been fielded at the event. He also split time between their professional squad and their U18 team. Averages of 15.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2.8 steals at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament for the Kaunas Qualifiers locked in the fact that he was a man playing among boys.

He did the same thing from 2019 to 2021. Victor was either playing professionally with Nanterre 92 in the LNB Pro A or spending his time developing with their youth squad. He got some recognition too after being named the Pro A Best Young Player but his time with Nanterre 92 came to an end in 2021. On the side, he also got his baccalaureat on earth and life sciences and social and economic sciences. Victor was an academic beast too because he finished his studies a year ahead and with honors.

ASVEL was the next team to pick him up but he got ill which led to his debut getting postponed. His numbers were quite underwhelming. Victor only got 9.4 points per contest and 5.1 rebounds a night in the LNB Pro A run. His EuroLeague season was not much better too because his averages were just 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. Yet again, he won Pro A Best Young Player of the Year but chose to find other opportunities despite a plea from Tony Parker to stay with the team.

Lead up to the association

Wembanyama was a name that started to echo throughout the rest of the basketball world when he joined Metropolitans 92. He led the team to the finals before losing to AS Monaco but his accomplishments in this one year spoke for himself. Victor led the league with 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks. This made him the youngest player to earn the LNB Pro A Most Valuable Player Award and was even honored to be part of the All-Pro A First Team.

It was not only the French who got to enjoy his dominance. Wemby’s games were broadcasted on NBA League Pass so that fans and teams would know what was at stake when he declared for the 2023 NBA Draft.

In fact, everyone knew that he was going first overall over G-League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson and Alabama Crimson Tide’s Brandon Miller. The only question that needed an answer was which team was going to win the NBA Draft Lottery to secure him.

The Spurs like their big men

Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 lottery. They obviously had to select Victor with the first overall pick and it all paid off. He played 71 games and averaged 21.6 points a night on a 46.5% clip from all three levels of scoring. His defensive talents also popped off as he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting after fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert. Wemby led the league with his 3.6 blocks while getting 10.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals every night for the Spurs.

Victor obviously won the Rookie of the Year award unanimously as he got the maximum of 495 points throughout the voting process. The Spurs were a very inexperienced squad in his rookie year which meant that they could not make the postseason. However, it might only take a blink of an eye before he surpasses the legacies of Tim Duncan and David Robinson with the pace of his improvement.

International accolades and amassing fortune

Victor was already a staple of the French national team since his U16 days. He led them to a silver medal at the U16 European Championships in India. Then, he moved up to their U19 squad for the FIBA World Cup in Latvia where they would win yet another silver medal for France.

It was an easy call to make him move up to the senior team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Much like the rest of his international careerr, they ended up finishing as the runners-up when they faced Team USA at the Olympics.

These make Victor a very worthy endorser as a lot of people want to see his insane prowess on the hard court. Nike launched his Alien campaign while brands like Louis Vuitton, 2K, Fanatics, and Barcode have all invested in him too. After just one season in the NBA, his net worth is valued at around $10 million.