In an off-season that started two months earlier than planned, due to injury, Wembanyama’s popularity has continued to soar.
En route to becoming the fastest player in NBA history to attract a combined total of one billion social media followers and likes on posts across platforms, Wembanyama made the most of his time off the court.
Athletes often holiday in their downtime, but Wembanyama went one step further – spending 10 days at a Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, China, training with monks.
His travelling did not stop there. Videos emerged of him playing football with locals in Costa Rica and Tokyo.
Nicknamed ‘the Alien’, Wembanyama also visited Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre, hosted a chess and basketball tournament at his own court in Le Chesnay in France and met Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.
Wembanyama is also an avid reader, often found engrossed in a book in the hours leading up to games.
“He is so intentional in the variety of ways that he tries to improve as a player and person,” said Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.
“It’s constantly trying to push himself out of his comfort zone and learn new things.”
On the court, the 1994 NBA Most Valuable Player and 12-time NBA all-star Hakeem Olajuwon invited Wembanyama to train privately with him in one of the most exclusive camps in the sport. Previous attendees include LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the late Kobe Bryant.
He also trained with another great of the sport, Kevin Garnett, on his road to Wednesday’s long-awaited return.
While Wembanyama said all of his extra-curricular summer activities “deserved respect”, he puts a return to full basketball fitness above them all – helped by time spent with Olajuwon and Garnett.
“I can assure you nobody has trained like I did this summer,” added the French star.
“I think I’ve maxed out what I could do in one summer. Now, I need to play basketball.”
