Victor Wembanyama made Parisian crowds go crazy in a stunning 140-110 victory for San Antonio Spurs over Indiana Pacers, in the first of the two NBA games that will take place in Paris this week. Wemby, 21-years-old, who last summer won a Silver medal in Paris, is a local star, was received when he visited his former gym in Nanterre, a suburb in Paris when he debuted in 2019.
In Thursday's match, Spurs (20-22) thrashed Indiana Pacers (24-20) 140-110, with Wembanyama scoring 30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks. It was a victory against all odds, because Indiana had won eight of the latest nine games, while San Antonio had only won one of the latest eight games, but Spurs showed superiority in every department, like a huge advantage on rebounding, 57-31.
Thanks to the presence of Wembanyama, Spurs is the most followed NBA team in France, even if they are so low in the table (12th out of 15th in the West Conference). It made sense that they travelled to Paris, as part of the annual game held in Paris, a way of popularising the competition outside of the US.
Yesterday's game was more than just a regular season match, it was an event for the city. The main football club, Paris Saint-Germain, launched a limited-series collection of shirts and products mixing PSG and Spurs' logos.
Spurs players went to the PSG-Manchester City game on Wednesday (a huge victory for Paris), and PSG players like Gonçalo Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Presnel Kimpembe and Ousmane Dembélé also went to the NBA game (alongside other personalities like NBA legend Pau Gasol and Tony Parker, footballers Rodri and Pedri or actors Omar Sy and François Civil.
On Saturday, a second NBA game will also take place at the Accor Arena in Paris, this time with Indiana Pacers acting as local team.