Author:Ning Que
"Listen, Buner, you have to go see him, yes, the son of your friend Fortero, very remarkable, very special." One day in 2016, Buna Ndiaye received a call from a friend who meant only one, recommending him a child who played basketball, only 12 years old.
Ndiaye, a famous French basketball agent, Gobert, Fournier, Batum was brought into the NBA. In 2021, he was ranked 49th on Forbes' global broker list.
That 12-year-old child is Vinbanyama.
At one point I thought I would become a track and field athlete
Two years later, Ndiaye went to see it, and before he went, he called Venbanyama's mother, Fortlo, and told her that he was going to play, "It has nothing to do with work, just as a friend, to see." Ndiaye said.
Ndiaye also has a son, and when he was 5 years old, he was sent to the basketball academy where Fortero was located.
It was a youth tournament in Creteil, sitting in the stands and chewing gum, Ndiaye was a little bored, and all of a sudden his mouth was not moving, looking at the stadium in a daze.
A child who is much taller than the other children, doing everything with ease, he has no fixed position, he does whatever he wants, "like an artist." ”
Ndiaye called Fort Rowe again, "You have such a special son, why don't you tell me!" ”
Fortro smiled, "He grows, I don't interfere. ”
Vinbanyama's father, Felix, is of Democratic Congo descent and originally practiced the long jump, playing in several world championships for the national team, but with average results; His mother, Fortero, is French and comes from a basketball family, his father played in the French Basketball League, and his mother also played basketball.
After retiring from the army, Felix and Forte Rowe both became coaches, not rich in the family, but at least the middle class, in the Paris satellite city of Versailles, Le Chennay, they had a house, Venbanyama, born there.
As for what Vinban Yama did when he grew up, the family went with the flow, "See he likes it." ”
Venbanyama studied judo and worked as a goalkeeper on a football team.
Other than that, the only thing his parents made him insist on was running.
"No matter what you do, you have to have the right running movements, and he taught me that." Vinbanyama was referring to his father, "About 10 years old, maybe 11 years old, I feel that I may become a track and field athlete in the future." ”
Of course, he can also play basketball.
Fort Rowe teaches children between the ages of 4 and 10 to play basketball, but she "doesn't teach" Bunban Yama, "not that she doesn't want to, but that she knows that as a parent, it's best not to get too involved in your child's life path." Van Banyama said.
Vinbanyama's sister Eve also plays basketball and plays for the ASVEL women's team, while younger brother Oscar plays for ASVEL U18.
The family's first honour came from sister Eve, who won the championship with France at the 2017 European Under-16 Women's Basketball Championship.
"I remember, our whole family went, including me, because the game was in France." Venbanyama said, "It was a moment of excitement and the first honor of our family. ”
Batum and his first meeting
Almost the same year, Batum also met Venbanyama.
"It should be a day in late June 2018." Batum recalled, "In Paris, I was training with the French team, and then I saw a big, thin man walking in slowly. ”
"He's the big kid I heard about some time ago?" Batum asked, and one coach said: "Yes, it's him, he's really tall. ”
Vinbanyama started training with the ball, "No, no, he's not tall, he's very special. Batum said he admitted he was shocked that he was so tall and could dribble so much.
The coach of the French team called Batum to get in the car, and he replied, "You go first, I'm going to see this kid and give me 15 minutes." ”
After 15 minutes, Batum told Parker that he had seen it, "I see the next one." "Not the future of French basketball," he said of the future of basketball. As for French basketball, "there is me, there is Fourniers, there is Gobert, and the next one I say is the next one for basketball." ”
Later, he told Yahoo Sports reporter Hines, "Heins is going to be the future of the NBA." But Hines scoffed.
In 2022, Venbanyama became very popular, and Hines made an appointment with Batum, and the first thing he said after the meeting was to apologize, "First of all, you are right, at that time, you and I talked to me about this child named Venbanama." ”
Batum smiled, "Yeah, I told you that at the time, before anyone else knew about him." ”
Batum also approached Ndiaye, "You have to sign him." ”
Venbanyama has developed smoothly, step by step, although some of Europe's top teams have caught him, but his parents still chose Nanterre 92 club. In 2021, he joined ASVEL, and Parker, who has retired, is the head coach of the team, while Batum and others are shareholders of the club.
Hines asked Batum if he had instructed Venbanyama, and Batum said "no" because he knew what to do, "He has his own way of doing things and doesn't need us to teach him to do things, and of course, if we need us to give him some advice, I think, I'd be happy." "But, I don't want to bother him, he's good on and off the pitch, he knows who he is and he knows what kind of person he wants to be, he's always working hard, and although some people say he's too young, I have to tell them, no, he's different." ”
Hines asked, "Why do you think he doesn't need to?" ”
"If he needs to, Parker and I are there." Batum said: "He's not an average 18-year-old, he has a 25-year-old mentality. ”
Make the final preparations for the NBA
In June, Venbanyama left ASVEL to join Met's 92 club in Paris, where the team was said to be on the brink of bankruptcy.
For the choice of Bunban Yama, many people do not understand, after all, Parker has said that he wants Venban Yama to play the starter.
"Obviously, neither I nor him is a happy moment." Venbanyama said it would be difficult to turn down Parker, but he thought the best option was to go back to Paris.
Parker was disappointed, but he said he respected Venbayama's choice, "He is a child with a bright future, I wish him good luck and wish him good health, which is the most important thing." ”
Ndiaye has already planned a career for Venbanyama, and in 2023, he will be in the NBA draft, and before that, he needs to adjust his body and, of course, the most important thing is to be healthy.
Another reason for choosing Mets 92 is that the head coach of the team, that is, the head coach of the French national team, Colette, this year's European Championship, he had recruited Venbanyama to join the team, but unfortunately, because of injury, he withdrew again, but in the next World Preliminary Round, he was shortlisted again.
For Vinbanyama's talent, Colette has some poor words, "I can only say that the sky is his limit." ”
Met92 hired Alguire, a famous physical trainer, and Gschwindner, who had worked with Nowitzki for a long time, was also invited to join a special "coaching team", and there was even a plastic surgeon in the team.
"We are careful not to cause injuries." Colette said: "Although it cannot be 100% avoided, it can be avoided. "An NBA team executive suggested that Venbaan Yama take a season off, but was rejected.
'I want to play a good season with the Metropolitans and hopefully we can go further.' Venbayama said. In the 5th round of Ligue 1, the Mets eliminated a four-game winning streak of Le Mans, with Venbanyama having 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
"For Victor, the most important thing is basketball, everything else is in second place." Ndiaye said: "He has a good personality and he wants to be better. [Imagine if you told] Kobe Bryant said he wouldn't play anymore for business reasons. He'd say, 'What are you talking about?' Victor was the same. ”
"I have complete confidence in my coaches, including anything they do." Venbanyama said: "There's nothing to worry about, I just want to do what I want to do." ”
The two "exhibition games" in Las Vegas have made Vinbanhama receive countless praises, James, Curry... Whether it was a relationship or not, they gave their own evaluations and at the same time, looked forward to playing with him.
Ndiaye told Venbanyama that in the next time, in addition to the Ligue 1 match, he also had to cherish and send the last "good times" of the children.
"Yes, in the next 15 to 20 years, I will not live in France or Europe." "It's sad and exciting because, I know my future is there, and yes, it's America," Venbanjama said. ”
In life, there is more than just basketball
When he first met Venbanyama, Ndiaye asked him, "Who do you want to be?" His answer was, "I am what I am, Victor Venbayama." ”
Ndiaye said, "I like him and he knows who he is. He also told Venbanyama, "In life, you can't just have basketball, that's unhealthy." ”
Vinbanyama is not a ball fanatic, "he loves life, he likes to read, he likes to draw, he likes to play games." Ndiaye said, "Yes, actually, he is still a child. ”
However, this child is ready to break into the NBA.
Salaun, a middle school teacher in Bunbanyama, remembers that he asked his children to write a dream essay, and many people wrote about becoming basketball stars, but Venban Yama did not, he wrote about a couple who were forced to separate and then reunite.
"I've always tried to do something different, not just basketball, in any field, I want to do something special, something that hasn't been done before." Vinbanyama said, "I think, I was born this way! ”