By Michael C. Wright | ESPN, 2025-02-18 22:00:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
旧金山——在莫斯康中心巨大的地下室球场上，圣安东尼奥马刺队的球星维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)凝视着不断涌来的人群。
他刚刚向在场的孩子们传授了篮球秘诀，建议他们“努力弥补弱点，让它们变成你的优势”。文班亚马随后形容他的首次NBA全明星体验是“紧张的”，并在周五的NBA Crossover活动闭幕式上，以一场令人愉悦的自信展示，进一步加深了这种感受。
当被问及预测周日NBA全明星赛的MVP时，文班亚马笑了。
“我必须赌我自己，”他说。
这句话激起了人群高喊“文班，文班，文班”的口号，这位来自法国的21岁青年扫视着粉丝们高举的手机海洋，他们想要记录下这一刻。
但这种情绪并不新鲜。早在近两周前，文班亚马就承诺在旧金山的这个周末将一切照常进行。
“我没有兴趣交朋友或者尝试做任何事情，”文班亚马在2月3日说，“我来这里是为了工作。”
最终，他没有赢得周日NBA全明星赛的MVP，斯蒂芬·库里赢得了这项荣誉。但这位首次入选全明星的球员仍然完成了一次成功的工作之旅。
“我会尽量放松，忘记篮球48小时，就这么多，”他在周日晚上说。“我会把这个写在我的简历上。结束了。我没有交到任何朋友。但我学到了很多。我问了很多问题，我得到了很多非常有趣的答案。很高兴能和这些经验丰富的球员同场竞技。”
文班亚马出场 36分钟，在周三以116-103负于波士顿的比赛中得到17分，13个篮板和2个盖帽，这是圣安东尼奥连续第六个客场比赛，也标志着俱乐部一年一度的牛仔竞技表演之旅的中点。
通常，在圣安东尼奥的漫长征程的这个阶段，球员们开始感到客场疲劳。
这可能影响了文班亚马仅出手6次，在对阵凯尔特人的下半场只得到7分。但在那场失利之后，当谈到他首次NBA全明星赛的目标时，他闪现出年轻的热情。
“首先，获胜[是目标]，”文班亚马说。“我希望它像最近的其他比赛一样，节奏缓慢，只是随便打打。我希望我能带来那种反差，成为一个疯狂、扑球、积极拼抢的球员。我一定会尽力带来那种能量。”
因此，在一次训练、赛后采访和一次理疗之后，文班亚马当晚与队友斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)一起在波士顿登上飞往旧金山的航班，而球队的其他成员则回家休息，度过全明星假期。
文班亚马和卡斯尔周四凌晨4点降落在旧金山，乘坐一辆面包车直接前往瑞吉酒店。
中午时分，文班亚马离开酒店，与耐克进行私人试衣，这是他当天众多行程中的第一个。
星期四
- 下午2:30： 在与耐克完成试衣后，文班亚马前往2K Games公司，这是广受欢迎的NBA 2K视频游戏的制作商。他与在场的各种比赛获胜者一起玩游戏，此外还与多位社交媒体网红拍摄内容。上个赛季，文班亚马在该游戏的历史上被评为评分最高的新秀（84分）。
- 下午5点： 文班亚马离开2K Games的活动现场，前往NBA的内部媒体渠道。在那里，他参与了联盟的照片拍摄，以及一些社交媒体频道的内容制作。
- 晚上7:30： 在与他的经纪公司Comsport举行鸡尾酒会后，文班亚马在旧金山市中心享用了私人晚餐。消息人士告诉ESPN，他在晚上9点前返回瑞吉酒店，并在酒店过夜。
在旧金山联合广场希尔顿酒店外 ，一阵阵喇叭声在穿过市中心的寒风中飘荡。数十辆黑色面包车和巨大的黑色SUV占据了街道两侧和代客泊车区。
联盟一年一度的NBA全明星科技峰会是一个仅限邀请的活动，NBA的A级人物（如球队老板）以及其他行业的领导者都会参加，而且大多数讨论不对媒体公开报道。
文班亚马中午到达，脱掉了他旅途中穿的大部分运动装，换上了更适合这种场合的服装。在TNT的厄尼·约翰逊主持下，文班亚马与纽约尼克斯队的后卫杰伦·布伦森；纽约自由队的后卫萨布丽娜·约内斯库；Fanatics创始人兼首席执行官迈克尔·鲁宾；唱片公司高管史蒂夫·斯托特；以及美国篮协主席、前参谋长联席会议主席马丁·E·登普西将军一起参加了关于2025年领导力的专题讨论。
“过去两天强度越来越大，因为在那之前，我真的没有考虑全明星周末，因为有很多比赛，还有赛季，”文班亚马谈到他忙碌的全明星行程时说。“所以，我还没有完全意识到我将参加全明星赛。但我现在看到了所有的能量。即使从去年到第二季，感觉真的不一样。感觉整个城市都在围绕着NBA产生共鸣。所以，感觉我们真的产生了前所未有的影响。”
维克托·文班亚马在小NBA活动中指导孩子们进行训练。https://twitter.com/mikecwright/status/1890530619395899856/video/1
— 迈克尔·C·莱特 (@ mikecwright) 2025年2月14日
文班亚马的队伍乘坐面包车离开了科技峰会，30分钟后抵达莫斯康中心。他留在面包车里近10分钟，吃午饭并换上一件耐克Nocta运动服，以参加小NBA活动和NBA Crossover。
在莫斯康中心二层的滨海大道宴会厅，布鲁克林篮网队的前锋卡梅隆·约翰逊在人群中漫步，没有引起注意，因为孩子们看到文班亚马的兴奋尖叫声淹没了一个配备了三个半场和一个全场的房间。
数十名儿童聚集在文班亚马周围，他与其中几人击掌。文班亚马带领大家进行了一次快速的动员，然后孩子们散开，排队进行篮球训练。在39分钟的时间里，文班亚马在球场之间移动，在孩子们进行训练时防守他们。
在下午3点之前，文班亚马和他的团队——包括NBA和马刺队的工作人员——悄悄地从房间后面的黑色落地窗帘中溜了出去。
几分钟后，他出现在莫斯康中心底层参加NBA Crossover活动，该活动在一个小的复制球场上进行，球场周围环绕着连锁围栏，粉丝们兴奋地抓住围栏，试图一睹这位划时代超级巨星的风采。
“NBA有你继续进步，成为一名更好的球员、更好的人，前途一片光明，”活动主持人告诉文班亚马。“所以，女士们先生们，让我们再次热烈鼓掌。”
文班亚马在掌声持续了几秒钟后转向左边。在他的团队的陪同下，该团体溜到另一块黑色窗帘后面，前往停在外面的面包车。
星期五
- 早上6点： 文班亚马醒来后发现他有整个上午的空闲时间。因此，他在瑞吉酒店吃了早餐，并在酒店闲逛，直到该出发去参加科技峰会。
- 下午4点： 在莫斯康中心的活动结束后，文班亚马前往奥克兰观看耐克EYBL学院的比赛。在阿拉巴马大学的承诺球员戴维昂·汉纳的带领下，林克学院以40-39险胜蒙特维德学院。汉纳得到15分、4个篮板和2次抢断，赢得了MVP奖杯，该奖杯由文班亚马颁发。
- 晚上7:30： 文班亚马以一顿市中心的晚餐结束了这一天。消息人士告诉ESPN，他没有参加新秀挑战赛，卡斯尔被评为MVP，因为他不想抢走队友的风头。
一位身穿黑色西装的NBA官员 将NBA技巧挑战赛的规则表递给文班亚马和队友克里斯·保罗，而大通中心的人群则发出嘘声。这位官员告诉他们，马刺队已经被取消了比赛资格。
在NBA全明星周末之前的几周里，文班亚马告诉每个问他计划的人，他要赢得在旧金山举行的每一项赛事。在事先仔细阅读了规则后，文班亚马认为他找到了一种万无一失的方法来节省宝贵的时间，以赢得技巧挑战赛，并说服保罗执行该计划。
“我不后悔，”他事后说。“我认为这是一个好主意。”
NBA官员不同意。
文班亚马和保罗因官员认为他们的投篮尝试无效而被取消了技巧挑战赛的资格。
尽管如此，文班亚马还是设计了他认为很聪明的方案来规避规则。
“我们尝试了一些我们认为可以获胜的方法，看看我们是否能获得最佳时间，”保罗说。
NBA技巧挑战赛包括一系列的击地传球、胸前传球、运球和在地板上不同位置的各种投篮。规则要求球员要么投进一球，要么尝试三次，以先到者为准。
马刺队二人组基本上跳过了投篮，除了一个（文班亚马的扣篮），而专注于传球。文班亚马和保罗以47.9秒的惊人成绩完成了第一轮，然后被官员取消了资格。
“我们获得了最佳时间，”文班亚马说。“数字说明了一切。”
金州勇士队的前锋德雷蒙德·格林与队友摩西·穆迪一起参加了该活动，他提到文班亚马事先曾向多人询问马刺队做法的合法性。
“文班在球场上走来走去，询问每个人，因为他们说进一个或[进行]三次尝试，”格林说。“所以，文班说，'哦，我可以把这三个都放在那里吗？'所以，他问了。他可能没有问对人。为了维护文班，他问了很多人。我听到他问了五六个人。”
据多位消息人士称，文班亚马平静地接受了失利，尽管他像对待一场真正的NBA比赛一样准备技巧挑战赛。
消息人士告诉ESPN，马刺队将他们的按摩师、理疗师和体能教练都带到了旧金山，让文班亚马进行他通常的赛前流程，因为“他非常认真地对待它”。
文班亚马自周三在波士顿失利后就没有接受过理疗。因此，在抵达球馆后，马刺队的体能和表现团队让文班亚马进行了大量的拉伸、按摩、热身和激活，而技巧挑战赛最终以令人失望告终。
“如果挑战赛允许我们这样做，”文班亚马事后说，“那有一个漏洞。这意味着我们不是问题所在。”
星期六
- 早上9点： 文班亚马离开瑞吉酒店，前往奥克兰竞技馆参加NBA家庭招待活动和早午餐会，在那里他将穿着他的全明星队服与朋友和家人合影。
- 上午11:08： 文班亚马抵达奥克兰竞技馆，参加他在练习前的首次NBA全明星媒体日。文班亚马在他的采访中重申，他“不是来交朋友的”。
- 下午1点： 文班亚马返回他在旧金山的酒店，然后于下午2:30出发前往大通中心，开始周六的庆祝活动。
- 下午3:59： 在几名摄影师的陪同下，文班亚马沿着大通中心的一条走廊走向更衣室。
- 晚上8:22： 在文班亚马和保罗在不到48秒的时间内完成技巧课程一分钟后，他们被告知他们被取消资格。他们试图从他们的场边座位上提出抗议，但无济于事。后来，TNT试图在广播期间采访他们，但一位NBA官员介入并阻止了采访的进行。
- 晚上10:30： 尽管发生了小小的争议，文班亚马还是换上了便装，留在在大通中心观看卡斯尔参加一场竞争激烈的扣篮大赛，与麦克·麦克朗对决，麦克朗在决赛中击败了卡斯尔，连续第三次获得冠军。很明显，文班亚马一直在卡斯尔为比赛做准备，从他在场边模仿这位新秀的360度背后左手扣篮就可以看出。
作为查克队全球之星队的替补 ，文班亚马在他的球队以17-12领先时替补上场参加了他的球队的半决赛对决——NBA全明星迷你锦标赛的第一场比赛。
他的第一个进球来自亚特兰大的特雷·杨助攻的一个扣篮。但全明星周末真正令人瞠目结舌的时刻是，文班亚马接到三届MVP尼古拉·约基奇的空中接力传球，扣篮得分，让全球之星队以34-27领先。
文班亚马在那场比赛中以3投3中得到6分，得到4个篮板和1次盖帽，上场时间略多于6分钟，全球之星队以41-32的胜利晋级锦标赛冠军。
在总决赛中，文班亚马以7投5中得到全队最高的11分，得到3个篮板和1次盖帽，而全球之星队的其余球员在17539名爆满的观众面前以24投6中，以41-25输给了沙克的老炮队。
文班亚马信守诺言，努力竞争。
“我认为他打得就像他在比赛中一样，非常认真，”密尔沃基雄鹿队的后卫达米安·利拉德说。“当我看到他时，我就想，‘他不是在开玩笑。’”
文班亚马在两场比赛中得到17分，7个篮板，3次盖帽和1次抢断。最重要的是，他发现自己有足够的实力在大型舞台上与世界上最好的球员认真竞争。
“我今年的状态比去年好得多，”文班亚马在赛后说。“我的身体更能适应这种节奏。我最大的收获是，有可能在那片球场上付出100％的努力，努力比赛，拼尽全力。对我来说，这是打篮球的唯一方式。”
星期日
- 下午1:40： 文班亚马离开瑞吉酒店，前往大通中心参加全明星周末的最后一天。
- 下午2:37： 文班亚马走进大通中心，卡斯尔紧随其后。卡斯尔将文班亚马的红色1号全明星球衣反穿在灰色连帽衫外面。
- 下午4:19： 文班亚马在赛前介绍的彩排前摆姿势拍照。他在圣安东尼奥的体能训练团队给他做最后一次理疗之前花时间签署NBA全明星纪念品。
- 下午5:10： 在奥克兰本地人、三次获得格莱美奖的歌手、词曲作者和唱片制作人拉斐尔·萨迪克在后台表演时，文班亚马走上舞台，作为他职业生涯中的首次全明星亮相。
点击查看原文：Inside Victor Wembanyama's first weekend as an NBA All-Star
Inside Victor Wembanyama’s first weekend as an NBA All-Star
SAN FRANCISCO – Surrounded on a court in the cavernous lower level of the Moscone Center, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama stared into a crowd that kept swelling by the second.
He had just dropped hoops jewels for kids in attendance, advising them to “work on your weaknesses so they become your strengths.” Wembanyama then described his first experience as an NBA All-Star as “intense,” only to ratchet up that feeling later with a crowd-pleasing display of confidence Friday as he closed out an NBA Crossover event.
Asked to predict the MVP of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, Wembanyama smiled.
“I’d have to bet on myself,” he said.
Those words whipped the crowd into chants of “Wemby, Wemby, Wemby,” as the 21-year-old from France scanned the sea of phones held high by fans looking to chronicle this moment.
But the sentiment was nothing new. Almost two weeks prior, Wembanyama promised the weekend in San Francisco would be business as usual.
“I don’t have any interest in making friends or trying to do anything,” Wembanyama said Feb. 3. “I’m here for work.”
Ultimately, he didn’t win MVP of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. Stephen Curry earned that honor. But the first-time All-Star still had a successful work trip.
“I’ll try to cool down and forget a little bit about basketball for 48 hours, that’s it,” he said Sunday night. "I’ll put this on my résumé. It’s done. I didn’t make any friends. But I learned a lot. I asked a lot of questions, and I got a lot of very interesting answers. It was a pleasure to share the floor with these experienced players. "
WEMBANYAMA LOGGED 36 minutes in a 116-103 loss at Boston on Wednesday, scoring 17 points with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in San Antonio’s sixth consecutive road game, which marked the halfway point of the club’s annual rodeo road trip.
Usually, at this juncture of San Antonio’s monthlong trek, road weariness starts to set in for the Spurs.
Maybe it played a role in Wembanyama attempting just six shots and being held to seven points in the second half against the Celtics. But he flashed youthful enthusiasm in the aftermath of that loss when discussing goals for his first NBA All-Star Game.
“First, winning [is the goal],” Wembanyama said. “I hope it turns out to be like every other recent game, slow and just playing around. I hope I can bring that contrast with a single guy who goes crazy, dives on the ball, hustles on every play. I’m definitely going to try to bring that energy.”
So, after a workout, postgame interviews and a treatment session, Wembanyama boarded a flight that night in Boston with teammate Stephon Castle bound for San Francisco, while the rest of the team headed home to rest up during All-Star break.
Wembanyama and Castle landed in San Francisco at 4 a.m. Thursday and headed straight to the St. Regis hotel via a passenger van.
By noon, Wembanyama was leaving the hotel for a private fitting with Nike, his first commitment in a day chock full of them.
Thursday
- 2:30 p.m.: After the fitting with Nike, Wembanyama headed to an appearance with 2K Games, maker of the popular NBA 2K video games. He played games with various contest winners in attendance, in addition to filming content with multiple social media influencers. Last season, Wembanyama ranked as the highest-rated rookie (84) in the game’s history.
- 5 p.m.: Wembanyama left his 2K Games appearance to hit the NBA’s in-house media circuit. There, he participated in photoshoots for the league as well as content for some of its social media channels.
- 7:30 p.m.: Wembanyama attended a personal dinner in downtown San Francisco after a cocktail hour with his agency, Comsport. He returned to the St. Regis hotel by 9 p.m. and stayed in for the night, sources told ESPN.
OUTSIDE THE HILTON San Francisco Union Square, a cavalcade of honking horns floated on the cool winds gusting through downtown. Dozens of black vans and gigantic black SUVs filled both sides of the street and the valet area.
The league’s annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit is an invitation-only event that involves A-listers from the NBA such as team owners, as well as leaders in other industries, and most of the discussions are off the record for media coverage.
Wembanyama arrived at noon and ditched the active wear he wore most of the trip for clothing more suitable for the occasion. With TNT’s Ernie Johnson hosting, Wembanyama participated in a panel discussion about leadership in 2025 along with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu; Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin; record executive Steve Stoute; and USA Basketball chairperson Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“It’s been growing in intensity these last two days because before that, I really did not think about All-Star Weekend because of all the games, the season,” Wembanyama said of his hectic All-Star schedule. “So, I don’t fully realize that I’m going to play in the All-Star Game yet. But I’m seeing all the energy now. It’s really different even from last year to Season 2. It feels like the whole city is vibing around the NBA right now. So, it feels like we really have an impact that I’ve rarely seen before.”
Victor Wembanyama putting the kids through some drills at jr. NBA event. https://twitter.com/mikecwright/status/1890530619395899856/video/1
— Michael C. Wright (@ mikecwright) February 14, 2025
Wembanyama’s party departed the tech summit via passenger van and arrived 30 minutes later at the Moscone Center. He remained in the van for nearly 10 minutes eating lunch and changing into a Nike Nocta sweatsuit to attend a junior NBA event and NBA Crossover.
On the second level of the Moscone Center in the Esplanade ballroom, Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson strolled through unnoticed as the shrieks of kids excited to see Wembanyama flooded a room outfitted with three half-court setups and two full courts.
Dozens of children huddled around Wembanyama as he dapped up several of them. Wembanyama led a quick huddle breakdown before the kids scattered to form lines for basketball drills. Over the course of 39 minutes, Wembanyama moved from court to court playing defense against the children as they cycled through drills.
Just before 3 p.m., Wembanyama and his team – which included NBA and Spurs personnel – quietly slipped out the back of the room through a black floor-to-ceiling curtain.
Minutes later, he emerged on the lower level of the Moscone Center for the NBA Crossover event, which took place on a small replica court surrounded by chain-link fences that fans gripped with glee as they tried to catch a glimpse of a generational superstar.
“The NBA is in good hands with you continuing to improve as a player, as a human,” the host of the event told Wembanyama. “So, ladies and gentlemen, let’s all get one more big round of applause.”
Wembanyama turned to his left after several seconds of applause. With his party in tow, the group slipped behind another black curtain headed for the van parked outside.
Friday
- 6 a.m.: Wembanyama woke up to find he would have the entire morning to himself. So, he ate breakfast at the St. Regis and hung out at the hotel until it was time to load into the van for the technology summit.
- 4 p.m.: After the events at the Moscone Center, Wembanyama headed to Oakland to watch the Nike EYBL Scholastic game. Led by Alabama commit Davion Hannah, Link Academy edged out Monteverde Academy 40-39. Hannah scored 15 points with 4 rebounds and 2 steals to win the MVP trophy, which was presented by Wembanyama.
- 7:30 p.m.: Wembanyama capped the night with a dinner downtown. He didn’t attend the Rising Stars game, where Castle was named MVP, because he didn’t want to take away from his teammate’s moment, sources told ESPN.
AN NBA OFFICIAL in a black suit presented the rules sheet for the NBA Skills Challenge to Wembanyama and teammate Chris Paul while the Chase Center crowd booed. Team Spurs had just been disqualified from the competition, the official told them.
In the weeks leading up to NBA All-Star weekend, Wembanyama told everyone asking about his plans to win every event in San Francisco. Having perused the rules beforehand, Wembanyama thought he had found a foolproof way to save precious time in a bid to steal the Skills Challenge, and convinced Paul to execute the plan.
“I don’t regret it,” he said afterward. “I thought it was a good idea.”
NBA officials disagreed.
Wembanyama and Paul were disqualified from the Skills Challenge because officials deemed their shot attempts invalid.
Still, Wembanyama devised what he thought was a clever scheme to skirt the rules.
“We tried something we thought could win to see if we had the best time,” Paul said.
The NBA Skills Challenge consists of a series of bounce passes, chest passes, dribbling and various shots from different locations on the floor. The rules required that players either make one shot or attempt three, whichever came first.
The Spurs duo essentially skipped the shots except one (a Wembanyama dunk) in favor of concentrating on the passes. Wembanyama and Paul finished the opening round with a blazing time of 47.9 seconds before officials disqualified them.
“We had the best time,” Wembanyama said. “The numbers speak for themselves.”
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, who competed in the event with teammate Moses Moody, mentioned that Wembanyama had inquired about the legality of the Spurs’ approach beforehand with multiple people.
“Wemby walked around the court asking everybody because they say make one or [take] three attempts,” Green said. “So, Wemby said, ‘Oh, I can just get all three of them up there?’ So, he asked. He may not have asked the right people. In Wemby’s defense, he asked a lot of people. I heard him ask five or six people.”
Wembanyama took the loss in stride, according to multiple sources, though he had prepared as if the Skills Challenge were a real NBA game.
The Spurs flew their massage therapist to San Francisco, along with the physical therapist and performance coach to run Wembanyama through his usual pregame routine, a source told ESPN, because “he takes it so seriously.”
Wembanyama hadn’t undergone treatment since the loss Wednesday in Boston. So, upon arrival at the arena, the Spurs’ strength and performance team worked Wembanyama through an extensive stretching routine, massage, warmup and activation for a Skills Challenge that ultimately ended in disappointment.
“If the challenge lets us do that,” Wembanyama said afterward, “there’s a loophole. It means we’re not the problem.”
Saturday
- 9 a.m.: Wembanyama departed the St. Regis hotel for an NBA family hospitality event and brunch at Oakland Arena, where he would take pictures in his All-Star uniform with friends and family members.
- 11:08 a.m.: Wembanyama arrived at Oakland Arena for his first NBA All-Star media day ahead of practice. Wembanyama reiterated during his availability that he was “not here to make friends.”
- 1 p.m.: Wembanyama headed back to his hotel in San Francisco before departing for Chase Center at 2:30 to begin Saturday’s festivities.
- 3:59 p.m.: With several cameramen in tow, Wembanyama headed down a hallway at Chase Center to the locker room.
- 8:22 p.m.: One minute after Wembanyama and Paul complete the skills course in under 48 seconds, they’re informed they’re disqualified. They try to protest from their sideline seats to no avail. Later, TNT attempts to interview them during the broadcast, but an NBA official steps in and prevents the interview from proceeding.
- 10:30 p.m.: Despite the mini-controversy, Wembanyama changed into street clothes and stayed at Chase Center to watch Castle compete in a hotly-contested dunk contest against Mac McClung, who would defeat Castle in the final to claim his third consecutive crown. It’s clear Wembanyama was around during Castle’s preparation for the contest, judging how he mimicked the rookie’s 360 behind the back left-handed dunk from the sideline.
AS A RESERVE on Team Chuck’s Global Stars, Wembanyama subbed into his team’s semifinal matchup – the first game of the NBA All-Star mini tournament – with his squad leading 17-12.
His first bucket came on a dunk with an assist from Atlanta’s Trae Young. But the first true eye-popping moment of All-Star Weekend was when Wembanyama slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a lob from three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to give the Global Stars a 34-27 advantage.
Wembanyama finished that game with 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting with 4 rebounds and a block in a little more than 6 minutes on the floor as the Global Stars advanced to the tournament championship with a 41-32 win.
In the title game, Wembanyama scored a team-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor with 3 rebounds and 1 block, as the rest of the Global Stars shot 6-of-24 in a 41-25 loss to Shaq’s OGs before a sellout crowd of 17,539.
Wembanyama stayed true to his word to compete hard.
“I thought he played like he plays in a game, seriously,” Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard said. “When I saw him, I was like, ‘He is not messing around.’”
Wembanyama finished the tournament with 17 points over two games with 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal. Most importantly, he discovered he’s got what it takes to seriously compete against the world’s best hoopers on a grand stage.
“I’m in much better shape this year than I was last year,” Wembanyama said after the game. “My body is much more adaptive to this rhythm. My biggest takeaway is it’s possible to give 100% on that court, to play hard, to play your ass off. For me, it’s the only way to play basketball.”
Sunday
- 1:40 p.m.: Wembanyama left the St. Regis hotel on the way to Chase Center for the final day of All-Star Weekend.
- 2:37 p.m.: Wembanyama walked into Chase Center with Castle following close behind. Castle was wearing Wembanyama’s red No. 1 All-Star jersey backward over a gray hoodie.
- 4:19 p.m.: Wembanyama posed for photos before his walkthrough for pregame introductions. He spent time signing NBA All-Star memorabilia before San Antonio’s strength and conditioning crew gave him one last treatment.
- 5:10 p.m.: With Oakland native and three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer Raphael Saadiq performing in the background, Wembanyama walked across the stage as he was introduced as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
By Michael C. Wright | ESPN, via ESPN