Victor Wembanyama is in China, and it’s not all about vacation.
The San Antonio Spurs star is in the midst of what’s expected to be a 10-day stay at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more.
The NBA China office confirmed Wembanyama is at the temple, and some Chinese media also confirmed his presence there with the temple itself. “Concentrate on training!” read part of a social media post on the NBA’s Weibo account, which also revealed the plans for a 10-day stay.
Then again, the secret was getting out through other social media means anyway.
Some photos of Wembanyama with a shaved head — it wasn’t shaved when he arrived in China — and wearing a robe similar to the other monks began widely circulating on social media this week. One of the photos showed the 7-foot-4 center sitting on a Chinese-style chair in front of multiple Buddha sculptures.
There evidently was some sightseeing going on earlier in the trip as well.
“Victor Wembanyama, live from China, on the Great Wall itself, having an amazing time. It’s crazy,” he said on a video posted to Instagram by the Spurs’ account and others.
Wembanyama is expected back in the U.S. in the coming weeks and will likely be with the Spurs’ delegation that goes to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month. The Spurs, like many teams, often have many players on their NBA roster with the summer league team for various events.
The 21-year-old Frenchman led the NBA in blocked shots during the regular season, despite his season ending in February — just after his first All-Star Game appearance — because of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The Spurs are hopeful that he will be able to play when next season begins and the French national team has also expressed hope that Wembanyama will be able to play for his country at this summer’s European championships.
Wembanyama was the Rookie of the Year last season and was widely expected to be a front-runner in this season’s Defensive Player of the Year race. He attempted 403 3-pointers and blocked 176 shots this season — no player in NBA history has ever finished a season with those numbers — and he was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists when the DVT was detected.
The only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all those numbers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
