That’s it, it’s over… Trained in Nanterre and passed through Asvel last season, Victor Wembanyama guided “his” Metropolitans to the final of Betclic Elite. Against Monaco, crowned for the first time, the march was too high (85-92 defeat on Thursday). The 19-year-old prodigy will now fulfill his destiny. Next step ? The NBA, with the Draft on June 22, in Brooklyn. He spoke after this very special season on Thursday, at Roland-Garros, after what will (no doubt) remain as his last match in France, outside the Blues.
The game: “It’s frustrating… There was room, that’s what we said at the end of the game… We wanted to win, come back to 2-1, take second at home and equalize at 2-2 … But there are plenty of reasons, plenty of factors that made us lose this meeting.
His state of mind before joining the NBA: “I was really focused on the finals the last few weeks. Now it has just ended… I have to prepare a lot of things with my family and my agents. Things are swirling around in my mind. But I just feel lucky to be able to experience all of this.”
The memory of this match at Roland-Garros: “It’s a pleasure to give people the opportunity to play here and to benefit thousands of people. For me, it was important to play in front of a larger audience, and in a room like this… It’s a privilege.”
End of an era in his life: “How did I feel at the end of the game? I didn’t think about the fact that it could be the last game because I wanted to win! In the end, it was special. But I will still play matches in France with the Blues. It’s just a goodbye (smile). (…) I have the impression of closing a part of my life. My relatives too. It’s the end of one stage, the beginning of another. I see them wishing me good luck, congratulating me on what happened this year… I’m made for that, I’m not worried. But of course, it’s the start of something.”
A crazy season, from Las Vegas to Roland-Garros: “In my dreams, my goals were to win the French championship. There are obviously obstacles, they weren’t going to let us do it (smile). It’s still an honor to have been able to face Monaco, to look them in the eye in the final, in two of the three matches. Surely this is a World Top 30 team! Top 3 Euroleague, it’s the crème de la crème… Looking back on the season, I’m proud of this young and tight-knit group… We had ups and downs. We have always known how to bounce back. We are where we were not expected. We worked, we got hurt. When I look at my team and everything that’s happened this season, I’m just proud of my guys. (…) A turning point in the season? It was progressive. The teams are adapting to us little by little. We were still able to keep this consistency in our level of play… despite the ups and downs. We all progressed together.”
Lessons from the Finals: “I knew I would go to the NBA, but I also knew there would be hardships. And trials are for proving to yourself that you deserve to receive the reward in the end. Each defeat is more a lesson than a failure. If I lost today, I know that it will serve me in 5 or 10 years and that I will win.
The American Dream: “It’s not a concept I’m particularly familiar with. Succeed ? Yes. Succeed in America.”
His exchange with Lahaou Konaté at the end of the match: “Lahaou is someone I know from Nanterre. I was still playing with the academy. He saw me, I trained all the time before going to high school in Maurice-Thorez and he arrived for the training of the pros, he always congratulated me, he said that he was happy to see me working on the field . He’s been like a big brother for a long time to me. Playing with him was both a privilege and an incredible opportunity for me to have him to guide me a bit because I know he is someone with whom I share a lot of values. I greatly appreciate it. At the end of the match, he congratulated me, he said he was proud of me and wished me good luck.
The action with 42 seconds to play: “There were mistakes in the action… It happens, I don’t blame anyone.”
Bilal Coulibaly: “I made this tweet out of pure honesty. It’s not my role to compare with other players my age, or even older than me. Bilal has a profile quite similar to the Thompson twins, undeniably. But in fact, he’s taller, bigger in stature, he shoots better, he’s at least as athletic, and he plays at a level light years away from (the new league) Overtime Elite. So if some prospects of this level are announced in the Top 5, Bilal deserves at least to be Top 5.
Her costume for the Draft: “I have several options, I haven’t decided yet. But I always try to be original, so there will be surprises.”
What he will miss most about France: “The food (smile). I’ve been to the United States before and… it’s different (smiles). Plus, I’m used to my mum’s cooking… So food, but also my family, no doubt. My family before food (smiles). My grandparents, my cousins cannot necessarily travel. I will always see them, but much less. It’s seeing my family, where I grew up, that’s what I’ll miss the most.”
A message for fans in the United States: “Let’s wait and see what franchise I get into (smiles). I live my dream. I hope I can share it with as many people as possible.”
Vincent Collet’s contribution: “Individual victories and performances in a winning collective, adapting to the opponent. I had never seen this in terms of analysis and tactical and technical perfectionism. He was the best person to spend this year. Anywhere, with Vincent it can only go well.
Areas for improvement: “What is often a problem for me on the pitch is staying intense for long minutes. I often need a change that I can’t necessarily take because my team needs me. That, I think, is the energy.”
The point on which he has improved the most: “Beyond the physical aspect, which is normal to progress in this area at my age, it is the aspect of leadership and knowing how to manage responsibilities. I don’t know if there was another player who had as much responsibility as me with the Mets. This charge has made me progress the most all year. With a mentor like Vincent… It is thanks to him that I was able to bear this load.
What he would say to the Victor of the season opener, who was lost and took 23 shots: “I wouldn’t talk to him to avoid interfering with what was going to happen next. It went well without a Victor from the future coming to talk to me (laughs). I don’t want to change that.”
The June 22 Draft: “This moment, when my name will be spoken by Adam Silver, is something I have already imagined, actually dreamed about for a long time. It will be an incredible mix of emotions… I’m not used to stressing out before matches or big events. But for this moment of rocking in my life, it is sure that I will have the ball in the stomach… I do not know exactly how I will feel but it will be an extremely special moment.
Interview during press conference
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