Victor Wembanyama is quickly becoming the next face of the NBA, but the San Antonio Spurs superstar hasn’t been in the basketball limelight for all that long. The 21-year-old didn’t begin his professional career with Nanterre 92 until 2019. Before that, Wemby was dominating youth basketball in France, where he already had an extra few inches over the competition.
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A rare video of a young Wembanyama emerged recently, depicting the Frenchman running the court while playing for Entente Le Chesnay Versailles. Still a while away from his teenage years in the clip, this is likely some of the earliest footage of the second-year star’s basketball career.
Considering his youth, this decade-plus-old video of Wemby looks like it could have been filmed in the current day.
The video showed off some of Wemby’s earliest tendencies, proving that the big man has always been a hard worker and a team-first player. He was able to utilize his incredible length both around the rim and in the passing lanes, disrupting play at the defensive side of the ball just as he does today.
With no three-point line to sit behind, it was interesting to see how young Wemby used his superior stature to score down low more than he does as a professional.
Victor Wembanyama dominating as a kid!! pic.twitter.com/o0t3VtvQDv
— Top NBA Fan (@TopNBAFanToday) January 25, 2025
Despite being the tallest player on the court, Wemby still looked to get his teammates involved in the clip. He was shown kicking it out to his teammate after being double-teamed in the paint, showing that his basketball IQ has been a staple of his repertoire for a long time.
Wembanyama looked comfortable on the court for his age, but he didn’t necessarily look like a star in the making. In fact, the 7-foot-3 center didn’t even begin his athletic career with basketball.
Victor Wembanyama was a multi-sport athlete
Wembanyama undoubtedly found his niche on the basketball court, but the Frenchman gave multiple other sports a try before settling on the one he wanted to make a career out of. As a child, Wemby tried out soccer, as expected, considering the sport’s widespread appeal across Europe. But he also tried out a more interesting endeavor, as well – judo.
Wemby’s length made him a natural fit as a goalkeeper, but he also took a chance as a judo practitioner before eventually turning to basketball under his mother’s guidance.
For most athletes, playing several different sports has gone a long way in improving their abilities in their main sport. This may apply to the Spurs big man as well, considering Wemby’s natural team-first instincts and well-rounded abilities.
