Despite the loss of France in the previous Olympics, all around the world gave respect to San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama as he is looked as the next face of basketball.
After almost two years, Wembanyama is now in the biggest basketball stage – NBA Finals.
French veteran Nicolas Batum discussed how his international teammate Wembanyama transpired and influenced basketball in their country.
“That’s motivation. I got a 10-year-old son playing basketball, and, yes, Wemby, that’s his guy. I mean, he’s all about Wemby, you know. He’s just watching every time, every playoff game, going home and watching the game and watching Wemby, because, I mean, that’s a big inspiration for him, for the young kids,” Batum told TalkBasket.net.
Batum compared eras from the time he started to compete professionally and internationally, where Tony Parker is in his prime with France and the Spurs, and now with Wembanyama.
“When I grew up, Tony was the guy, like, I was like, oh, if he can do it, maybe I’ll have a chance to do it. But, Wemby do it to another level. And, when you watch it, like, for the young kids, the inspiration you can have, if he can do it, I mean, we can do it, as well. And, he’s doing it the right way,” he added.
The Clippers forward observed that Wembanyama’s influence is highly different compared to Parker in France basketball, where modern bigs can be skilled as guards.
Prime Video’s exclusive live coverage of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs tips off on 4th June at 1.30am in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
