NBA star Victor Wembanyama had more on his mind than just basketball on Tuesday, December 16 when his San Antonio Spurs faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup championship game.
Wembanyama, 21, was reportedly dealing with the death of his grandmother, whom he learned passed away in his home country of France that day, according to The Athletic. The Spurs star struggled through his postgame press conference, fighting back tears.
“Sorry,” he told reporters. “I just lost somebody today.”
The Spurs let a lead slip away, losing the game 124-113 as the Knicks out-scored San Antonio by 16 in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama was playing in just his second game after missing a month with a calf injury. He finished with 18 points and six rebounds.
With the Knicks and Spurs both expected to be playoff contenders, Wembanyama did his best to shift the focus forward.
“I guess this is the best practice for important games because we, of course, our focus is already on the playoffs,” he said. “The playoffs are going to be the biggest time of the year. So I guess it’s good that we get this experience today.”
As of Wednesday morning, December 17, it’s not known which grandmother the third-year Spur lost, but he comes from a family of basketball players, including one of his grandmas, Marie-Christine.
His grandfather, Michel de Fautereau, was a professional basketball player in France in the 1960s, while his mother, Elodie, was a player and coach. Wembanyama’s dad, Félix, was a celebrated Congolese track and field athlete, participating in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
Victor has credited both his parents for fostering his interest in sports while he let him figure out on his own that basketball was his passion. The 2024 Rookie of the Year was also a soccer player and ran track.
“It’s not that she doesn’t want to get involved in my performance, but she knows her role,” he said of Elodie in a 2022 interview with EuroLeague Basketball. “You know what I mean? And she knows as a parent sometimes it’s better to fade off or not to get too much involved in your children’s path.”
“They really didn’t interfere with my sport,” Victor later added about his parents in a 2023 appearance on Good Morning America. “They let me be how I wanted to be. They made a lot of sacrifices. On the other hand, they’re gonna be able to retire early.”
The athletic prowess has extended to Victor’s siblings as well, in his older sister, Eve, and younger brother, Oscar. Eve, 24, plays professional basketball in France, while Oscar, 18, could soon join Victor in the NBA.
Oscar told EuroLeague Basketball that while he has learned a lot from his older brother, he is ready to blaze his own trail.
“I don’t particularly feel in his shadow. My goal is not to do exactly like him but to write my own story, as beautiful as possible,” he said. “The only pressure I receive is from others who give it to me, from constantly being compared to [Victor], and all the questions I am asked about him. People sometimes see me only as Victor’s brother, and that’s not the case.”
