NBA: Wembanyama has had a “very, very good start to the season,” says Parker

Is there a more legitimate person than Tony Parker to talk about the early days of Victor Wembanyama? Guest of BFM Business this Thursday, the legend of the San Antonio Spurs judged the first steps of “the new star” of French basketball within the Texan franchise. In 12 matches played, “Wemby” distinguished itself with good sequences while experiencing difficulties against better-armed opponents. “Of course I watched his first matches. He, personally, is having a very, very good start to the season. Afterwards, the team is a little more difficult,” said Parker positively.

Young and in total reconstruction, the team coached by Gregg Popovich remains on six defeats in a row, the last of which largely conceded against the Oklahoma City Thunder (87-123), on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. Titled four times in the NBA with the Spurs in a 17-year career (2001-2018), “TP” knows the demands of the North American league. This is why he asks for patience with the French prodigy (19 years old). “He has a young team around him,” he added. It’s going to take a while before he has a team capable of winning games regularly.”

Optimistic about Wembanyama's success, Parker is also optimistic about Vincent Collet's French team, expected to be at the turning point next summer during the Olympic Games after a failed World Cup.

“[Do you look at Wembanyama the way Platini looked at Zidane?] It’s a little bit like that, it’s the future of French basketball, concluded the president of ASVEL. He's the new star. I think French basketball is in very good hands with him. I think the French team will have a great future and I can’t wait to see the 2024 Olympic Games.” Between now and the meeting in Paris, “Wemby” still has 71 NBA games to play in the San Antonio jersey. Or even more if he manages to get his franchise into the end-of-season play-offs.

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