{"id":90834,"date":"2024-08-16T08:27:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T12:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=90834"},"modified":"2024-08-16T08:28:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T12:28:22","slug":"spurs-victor-wembanyama-details-1-on-1-with-youth-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/16\/spurs-victor-wembanyama-details-1-on-1-with-youth-icon\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyama Details 1-On-1 With \u2018Youth Icon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Everybody looks up to somebody, even San Antonio Spurs big man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a>. Making an appearance on M6 Info with Fenerbache forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/wnba\/players\/w\/williga01w.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gabby Williams<\/a> to discuss their experience with France\u2019s national basketball teams in the Paris Olympics, the 7-foot-4 showstopper opened up about a conversation he had with his \u201cyouth icon\u201d after the final round of the men\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n<h2>Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyama Details 1-On-1 With \u2018Youth Icon\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Revealing that Phoenix Suns forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> is his \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/en\/olympic-games\/1707226\/wemby-on-childhood-favorite-durant-i-made-it-clear-i-wanted-to-learn-from-him\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">personal childhood favorite<\/a>\u201d (h\/t EuroHoops), Wembanyama details the conversation he had with the 14-time NBA All-Star at the conclusion of the gold medal game.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victor Wembanyama et Gabby Williams invit\u00e9s du 19h45 sur M6\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3KU_MaASB7Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s my youth icon,\u201d Wembanyama says. \u201c\u2026I made it clear to him that I wanted to learn from him and perhaps steal one or two of his secret techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018We Got You\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>At the time, it was thought that Durant was consoling Wembanyama more than anything. Taken over by emotion after <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/10\/twice-as-nice-as-old-timer-propel-usa-to-5th-straight-gold-star-center-joins-lebron-james-and-luka-doncic-in-olympics-lore\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Team USA outlasted France<\/a>, the big man was spotted crying on the bench, displaying a level of passion that people love to see from players.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">They just kick started his supervillain origin story<\/p>\n<p>Yeah the US won but at what cost \ud83d\ude14 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SISIlFCf1J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/SISIlFCf1J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ComplexSports\/status\/1822394913822003392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 10, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As the two teams lined up to shake hands, a sobbing Wembanyama was spotted with Durant.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"fr\">Kevin Durant est venu r\u00e9conforter Wemby en pleures apr\u00e8s le match. \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yXu3J3p3nz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/yXu3J3p3nz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kevin Durant France (@KDurant_FR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KDurant_FR\/status\/1822384437545320527?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 10, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The words that came out of Durant\u2019s mouth were unclear, but it looked like he was saying \u201cwe got you.\u201d Of course, stories about Wembanyama wanting to pick the brain of great players aren\u2019t uncommon. Still, as the art of lip reading isn\u2019t concrete evidence, it was merely speculation.<\/p>\n<p>Now, there\u2019s no doubt that Wembanyama was seeking out advice.<\/p>\n<h3>Kevin Durant, The Mentor<\/h3>\n<p>When considering both Durant\u2019s skill level and physical profile, he may not find a better mentor. Though he denies it, it\u2019s long been suggested that Durant is actually a true 7-footer. At 240 pounds, he\u2019s long and lanky, his spindly limbs leading to nicknames like \u2018Durantula\u2019 and \u2018Slim Reaper.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The fact that he has a guard\u2019s shooting touch at a center\u2019s height isn\u2019t lost on anyone. Indeed, when people consider the most skilled 7-footers of all-time, Durant\u2019s name consistently crops up on the list. So, as Wembanyama looks to improve as a scorer, he\u2019s found a terrific mentor.<\/p>\n<p>As of right now, the most simple way that Durant could help Wembanyama is by helping him improve his 3-point shooting. As a rookie, Wembanyama shot 32.5 percent from 3. In the Olympics, he made just 28.9 percent of his 3s. For comparison, Durant is a career 38.7 percent 3-point shooter and made 51.9 percent of his 3s in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>Durant could also help Wembanyama improve his ability to score off the dribble. Whether it\u2019s creating space with a crossover or after feeling his opponent\u2019s body, this is a nuanced part of Durant\u2019s game that\u2019s helped him become a four-time NBA scoring champion.<\/p>\n<p>However, Durant\u2019s love of the game and meticulous training have as much to do with his success as his God-given talent and physical attributes. He\u2019s not one of the players who rests on their laurels or relies on their natural ability.<\/p>\n<p>This is a trait that he shares with Wembanyama. In fact, it\u2019s one of the reasons that he\u2019ll probably make time to workout with the Frenchman. Not only would Wembanyama have his respect as a member of his prized NBA fraternity, he has a rare combination of skill and work ethic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everybody looks up to somebody, even San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama. Making an appearance on M6 Info with Fenerbache forward Gabby Williams to discuss their experience with France\u2019s national basketball teams in the Paris Olympics, the 7-foot-4 showstopper opened up about a conversation he had with his \u201cyouth icon\u201d after the final round [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":90855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,1608,62,3,28],"tags":[69,1052,4669],"class_list":["post-90834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spurs","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-suns","tag-kevin-durant","tag-olympics","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}