French big man Victor Wembanyama discloses his conversation with NBA veteran Kevin Durant after competing against each other at the recent Olympics. The 20-year-old found support for his recent opponent, praising him for his battle-hardened skills and experience.
Wembanyama was in an interview with the Boardroom, a multimedia company partially owned by KD. Post-game between Team France and Team USA, the San Antonio Spurs center talked with Durant.
He said he had learned valuable lessons from the Phoenix Suns’ forward.
“Clearly, this is my personal childhood favorite. He became my favorite player. It was a classic one-on-one moment for encouragement and congratulations for each other, and I made it clear to him that I wanted to learn from him and perhaps only steal one or two of his secret techniques.”
The rookie Wembanyama and the veteran Durant were often compared during the recent Olympiad due to their similar plays.
Eventually, the two NBA players finally confronted each other in the gold medal match between Team USA and Team France.
Unfortunately for the rookie in the former, he had lost against the NBA-filled latter, 87-98.
Wembanyama was in tears at the end of the match. After all, he led Team France, contributing 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting and seven rebounds in 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Kevin Durant scored 15 points, four assists, four rebounds, and two steals for Team USA.
It was nearly a close match between the two teams. However, the European powerhouses couldn’t just stop the hot hands of Team USA (or NBA’s) veterans like Stephen Curry, who had 24 points then, and Devin Booker and LeBron James.
Team France only had two players gaining double-digit points other than Wembanyama, Guerschon Yabusele, and Nando De Colo.
The unlucky loss drives Wembanyama to make up for the upcoming international competitions. He recently warned his opponents about his constant improvement, signifying that he will eventually crush them and win the much-awaited victories for Team France.
Victor Wembanyama is already making massive promises in the first year of his NBA career.
Wemby is also on a mission to make the San Antonio Spurs, his NBA team, a threatening one in the Western Conference.
The Spurs never qualified for the NBA playoffs, finishing in fourteenth place at the end of the regular season.
Wembanyama played 71 games the previous season, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.6 blocks.
With the arrival of Chris Paul and NBA draftees, everyone awaits how Wembanyama will lead his team to wins in the upcoming regular season.
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