French professional basketball player Victor Wembanyama was born on January 4, 2004, in Le Chesnay, France. He is renowned for his impressive playing style and remarkable height of 7 feet 4 inches [2.23 meters]. When the San Antonio Spurs selected him with the first pick in the 2023 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, many believed he was the most promising prospect of his generation.
Before focusing on basketball, Wembanyama participated in football (soccer) and judo at a young age. Both his parents represented their countries at the international level in their respective sports: his mother, Elodie Diouf, played basketball for the French national team before becoming a youth coach, and his father, Felix Wembanyama, competed extensively in judo and triple jump. Victor began training with the local basketball team Entente Le Chesnay-Versailles (ELCV) at the age of seven. Throughout his childhood basketball career, he often competed in age categories above his own, earning rankings among the youngest players at such levels.
In 2003, Wembanyama attended an ELCV match coached by Michael Elaraki of Nanterre. Due to Wembanyama’s exceptional height, Elaraki mistook him for an assistant coach and was surprised to learn he was a player for the ELCV Under-11 (U11) team. At the age of ten, Wembanyama joined the Nanterre youth team, where he gained experience playing across the court and developed a well-rounded skill set that included guard-level shooting, passing, and on-ball defense. It was during this time that Wembanyama first became interested in becoming a professional basketball player. He began watching TV shows and internet videos to teach himself English as he realized it was the language of the NBA.
At the age of 14, Wembanyama left his family home in Nanterre to reside in the Nanterre team dormitory, where he received education while training at the local high school. He made his professional basketball debut in 2019 at the age of 15, playing for Nanterre’s senior team for a brief period, during which they won a silver medal in the European Professional Basketball League, EuroCup. The following year, as a 16-year-old player with Nanterre’s U18 team in the EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament, Wembanyama excelled on both ends of the floor, helping his team finish second overall.
Wembanyama then transitioned to ASVEL Basket in Villeurbanne for the 2021-2022 season, a team in the French Pro A League (Ligue Nationale de Basket Pro A) specifically for elite men, owned by former NBA player Tony Parker. He averaged 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game, leading the league. He was named the league’s top scorer, best shot blocker, best defender, and best young player of the season, making him the league’s most valuable player (MVP) as the youngest recipient.
In October 2022, in a high-profile showcase game in Henderson, Nevada, Wembanyama’s ASVEL Basket 92 competed against the NBA Development Squad G League Ignite and Scooter Henderson, considered the second-best player in the 2023 NBA Draft class. G League Ignite won the first game of the series, while ASVEL Basket 92 won the second. The teams split the series. Wembanyama stood out, generating excitement about his potential NBA performance with 73 points over the two games.
In April 2023, Wembanyama formally expressed his desire to be drafted by the NBA at the age of 19. The following June, he was selected by the Spurs, making history as the second European player to be chosen first overall in the NBA Draft. Born in Italy after Andrea.
