Champion sign
"It was the longest five minutes of my life." Vembanyama talks about his feelings before the name was announced.
Since the Spurs drew the top pick on May 16, it was only a matter of time before Venbanyama donned a silver and black jersey. In the end, it is no surprise that under the attention of global NBA fans, the San Antonio Spurs selected a generation of big things from France in the 2023 draft.
After the Spurs successfully selected the first pick in the lottery draft last month, the top choice was an undisputed choice, and although many teams were interested in offering their wealth to trade Ventanyama, the Spurs simply refused to call, and did not discuss any possibility of a trade for Ventanyama.
Evaluation of the outside team Bunbanyama
With a height of 222 cm and an arm span of 242 cm, Venbanyama has the projection ability of a shooting guard, the dribbling skills of a point guard, and excellent athleticism, and is recognized as a generation of great things and generational talents, and James is even praised as an "alien".
"He's very mature and very smart." Theo Quintard, a French journalist who has been following and reporting on Wembanyama for the past few years, said. "Don't worry about him at all, he likes to draw and read, he doesn't spend much time on social media networks, he would rather read a good book."
Others agree.
"He's going to be a perfect fit for the Spurs and their culture... But he's also suitable for all 30 teams in the NBA." ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas said.
Fate with the Spurs
With the arrival of the 19-year-old Venbanyama, the Spurs are once again important in the NBA landscape. The Spurs' last champion, Tim Duncan, 1997, gave them five championships, and the last 1987 champion, David Robbison, who made them powerhouses in the '90s, both Hall of Famer, and the duo combined to win championships in 1999 and 2003, before Duncan led the Spurs to another Gold Cup in 2005, 2007 and 2014. The Spurs became the second-to-last in the league last season with 22 wins and wrote the longest four-year consecutive playoff miss in team history, but these "hard work" paid off, and the Silver and Black won the third place in team history: Venbanyama.
This isn't the first time Spurs have had such a deep connection with a French player. Parker, the Spurs' all-time point guard, is also from France, and Venbanyama played for Parker's French professional basketball team two years ago. Parker and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in August, and Parker is also the Spurs' four-time champion and was awarded FMVP in 2007, the first European FMVP. In the recent 2014 championship team of the Spurs, Dior is also from France.
The great goal of Venbanyama
Like Duncan and Robinson, Venbanama is also considered to have excellent character, and at the age of 19, he is already determined to pursue his career position in basketball.
"For me, San Antonio is a winning city." Venbanyama said. "On the night of the lottery draft, when the Spurs drew the first pick, I just felt lucky that they are a team with this culture, with a lot of experience in winning and developing great players, and I can't wait." At a press conference after the draft, Venbanyama also talked about his goals in the NBA: "Some players have tried to win championships and win rings for years, but they haven't achieved it... I don't want to be one of them. So that's my goal, to get closer to the championship ring every time and learn how to achieve that."
"It's the beginning of a great adventure." Venbanyama said. "You never know what's going to happen in the future, and that's what's exciting."
The popularity of Vemban Yama
The moment he was announced as a champion, even if it was a result known to the world, Wen Banyama couldn't help but redden his eyes with excitement, "I've been dreaming of this moment for a long time, and it makes me cry." "I've always had that ambition and I've wanted to be a champion ever since I knew about the draft," Venbanyama said.
Venbanyama also shouted to the fans of the Holy City: "Hey fans, it's finally come true, I'm a Spurs man, I can't wait to go home!" He also joked that San Antonio is looking forward to the "breakfast taco". Speaking of Spurs fans, Wen Banyama is also full of emotion: "Since May 16, I have felt so much love from Spurs fans. I want to still have my frescoes in San Antonio. It's really incredible... There is no better welcome than that, I really love these fans."
Popovich's expectations
After acquiring Venbanyama, legendary coach Popovich, who is expected to sign a three-year contract extension with the Spurs, also held a press conference in the Holy City to express his opinion on the French rookie: "Let Venbanyama be Venbanyama himself... We'll watch him and see what happens... I learned this from Manu. You can't force players to be what you think they should be." Popovich said. "What we were most interested in was setting the framework in an environment where he could be comfortable and make him a Venbanyama. He's not LeBron or Duncan or Kobe or anybody, he's Bunban, and we want him to be himself." The 74-year-old coach also said that he is looking forward to building a relationship with Venbanyama , and talking about his next plans, Popovich said: "We are discussing what he will do after that, he has not rested all the way, he will participate in the summer league, and to what extent, we are not yet sure."
The pressure that the class will face next
As for the pressures that Munbanyama has to face and deal with as a champion, "From my point of view, I don't think he needs much help from me." Popovich attributed this to the teachings of Vembanyama's parents. Unlike the low-key tradition of the Holy City, and the fact that the previous champion Duncan always subconsciously avoided the spotlight, the new champion Wen Banyama, who is less than 20 years old, is not afraid of media attention. According to NBA statistics, Venbanyama was the top ten players who were watched the most on social media last season, even if he has not played a single NBA game, but he has long been accustomed to being chased by the media in the big battle, and it is expected that South Texas will also have a large number of media in the next few years, especially French journalists will report on Ventanyama and Spurs with a national eye. But he doesn't seem to have to worry about Vanbanyama going off track, like James in 2003, he understands that these are all steps to the top, and Spurs reporter Mike Finger said: "Vembanyama was the first Spurs player to tell me 'I want to be the best at the press conference'."
With the addition of Venbanyama, there are 11 players under the age of 24. Whether we can lead the Silver and Black Army back to glory, let's wait and see!
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