ESPN: Sad News” Spurs Star Player Including Victor Wembanyama In…
Victor Wembanyama was willing to do whatever his coaches asked. But he certainly had his preference.
Wembanyama was still on a minutes restriction and had been sitting out the second game of back-to-back sets after playing the first night. But this was different.
The San Antonio Spurs were in the middle of a five-game road trip and set to face the Charlotte Hornets on a Friday night, with a visit to the nation’s capital to take on Washington Wizards the following night. Of the two, it was the Wizards game that was truly special for Wembanyama, and the one he wanted to play, because of who he’d be facing.
Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, and Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly, the No. 8 selection, had been friends long before they were teammates last season in the French Pro A League with Mets 92.
After missing each other in the summer league because Wembanyama played only the Spurs’ first two games, this was set to be their first matchup against one another. All that needed to happen was for Wembanyama to sit against Charlotte.
Once he found out his coaches were letting him play against Coulibaly, the significance of the moment set in.
“At the time [when we were kids], it was just dreams and something crazy,” Wembanyama said. “But we both happened to make it here and I’m just so proud of him. It’s going to feel weird for sure.”
On a cold night in Washington on Jan. 20, the two squared off, with Wembanyama’s Spurs coming from behind late to defeat Coulibaly’s Wizards 131-127.
It wasn’t until the 1:36 mark in the third quarter that the two shared the court. Coulibaly quickly got the better of his countryman by blocking an alley-oop attempt.
During the postgame news conference, Coulibaly had to check the box score on the table to make sure he was credited with the block.
“That’s just what I wanted,” Coulibaly said. “I wanted to dunk on him but that was a little much. I had the block, so I’m happy with that.”
When the final buzzer sounded, Wembanyama and Coulibaly met at half court and exchanged jerseys. It was only the second jersey swap Wembanyama had this season — the first was with fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert.
Wembanyama, Coulibaly and Gobert are just three of a record 14 players who represent France in the NBA this season, according to the league. Five are rookies (Wembanyama, Coulibaly, Portland’s Rayan Rupert, Detroit’s Malcolm Cazalon and San Antonio’s Sidy Cissoko) and two debuted last season (Oklahoma City’s Ousmane Dieng and the Clippers’ Moussa Diabate).
Their ranks will grow soon.
The latest 2024 NBA mock draft from ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo has four French players projected to go in Round 1, including the top two picks and three of the first six. “Can you believe it?,” Wembanyama told ESPN. “I don’t think any country but the United States, of course, has done that before.”
“That would be crazy. That would be a statement like never before. It would mean a lot.” There has never been an NBA draft where international players were taken with the top two selections, let alone two from the same country.
Wembanyama and Coulibaly met again Monday night. This time it was Coulibaly’s Wizards who came from behind to get a 118-113 win, spoiling a chance for Wembanyama to win three consecutive games against French opponents. The Spurs defeated Rupert and the Blazers on Friday and Gobert and the Timberwolves on Saturday.
