The nearby Times Square skyscrapers still shine brightly. It’s 10 p.m. on the east coast of the United States (4 a.m. this morning in France) and Victor Wembanyama seems completely extinct. He has just been soundly swept away in New York (126-105). He bends his long figure in the too-narrow corridors of Madison Square Garden, this legendary hall considered the Mecca of basketball. “We’re young, we’re learning,” he tries to play down the drama. The Spurs have just experienced their third consecutive defeat, following those at Indiana and against Toronto. After an exciting debut in the NBA, full of highlights and positive results, the return to reality is difficult for the Frenchman and his teammates.
The honeymoon, which began with New York last June during a historic Draft which made him the greatest hope in world basketball since LeBron James, is well and truly over. The laborious performances follow one another and Wemby seems to be experiencing his first real difficulties in the NBA, without seeming to know how to respond to them. “It’s not new, I’ve always had to face adversity,” he corrects. The challenge is to be able to remain lucid and continue to play as a team. »
The public sings to him that he is overrated
For a few days, everyone had been telling him that they were going to discover the “Garden”, this room which proudly sits in the heart of Manhattan, renowned for its incomparable atmosphere and its indefinable electricity. Too big, so soon, for him? The lights of the city, the media pressure, the frenetic pace of the competition: the young basketball player (19 years old) took it all in the face. On the floor, he started by missing two open 3-point shots before getting tangled up in the game with his teammates. At halftime, he had yet to make a basket, only two free throws.
In the third quarter, he missed several shots (he finished at 4/14). The public, accommodating, shouts “Overrated” at him which touch him right in the heart. Wemby then wakes up a little, he comes to provoke the circle more and ends up exceeding the 10 point mark. He finished the game with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Lean for what will go down in history as its premiere at Madison Square Garden. “It’s not as big as I imagined,” he confided the morning of the match, during the traditional warm-up, rolling his gaze across the stands. “It’s harder than you imagined,” provocative Knicks fans retort on social media.
The epilogue of two days in the megalopolis halfway between the marathon and the obstacle course. The day before, he had dinner with his team and staff in a French restaurant in the Big Apple, before venturing into the streets of New York at nightfall and stopping at a bookstore. He also quickly spoke with Tom Brady, the American football star, met through entrepreneur Michael Rubin, creator of the sporting goods brand Fanatics and close to many stars.
On the day of the meeting, everyone crowds around the MSG. ESPN is traveling there for the first time this season. For the Spurs, this is already the fourth prime time broadcast on national TV: the symbol of a changing world! On the seat of each of the 18,912 spectators (ticket counters closed), the Knicks staff placed t-shirts in the colors of the franchise. The sound system takes advantage of a downtime to make the audience sing to the sound of “New York, New York”, by Sinatra. The kind of entertainment usually reserved for big matches. No huge star in the front row though. When the team compositions were announced, the room gave Wemby a nice ovation.
In the press box, 24 nationalities are represented. The stands want to see the phenomenon with their own eyes. Yassin and Kristina came almost on purpose from Bochum, Germany. “We wanted to visit New York and we looked at the NBA calendar to make our trip coincide with Wembanyama’s arrival,” they explain. We love basketball and we wanted to see it with our own eyes. He’s a very big star in Europe! Even in Germany everyone is talking about it. »
A little further on, a group of friends, dressed in the orange and blue colors of the Knicks, are discussing Wemby. “We come often but we specially supported this match because of Victor,” explain the thirty-somethings Alex, Jake and Tony. Having the opportunity to watch someone with so much potential play so young, so early in their career, is a pretty unique opportunity. It would fit so well in New York. I would sell my house tomorrow if it allowed us to have it here! »
For Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the vision is somewhat different. “It’s going to take time,” he whispered in the ear of the opposing coach, Tom Thibodeau, at the end of the match. “Victor has a lot of stuff to record about how things work in the NBA,” he adds to the journalists. The players he faces are mostly new to him. But we will build around him. »
Lost in the bowels of the legendary room, Wembanyama puts away his bag. The suitcases are a little heavier than on the way out. But the young man, 2.22 m tall, is still a little taller. The lights of New York have cruelly highlighted its current difficulties. Not many people doubt, however, given the basketball player’s potential, that these same lights, in a few months or a few years, will be there to highlight his success.
2023-11-09 07:19:00
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