After spending 10 days in seclusion at a Shaolin temple in China, Victor Wembanyama has returned to American soil and has been doing a whirlwind media tour ever since, appearing on Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls and The Shop at Fanatics Fest in New York over the weekend. Although he has made spot appearances since being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis back in February (such as a media appearance ahead of the Spurs’ season finale, attending Stephon Castle’s ROTY ceremony and Mitch Johnson’s introductory press conference), this is by far the most we’ve heard from him in the last four months, so let’s dig into some of his more viral comments.

Wemby has gained 30 pounds since entering the league

A constant concern about Wemby since he entered the league was his slight frame, but as players like Giannis Antetokounmpo have proven, that doesn’t mean mass can’t be added. When asked by Hart what he weighs now vs. when he came into the league, he said he entered at about 215 ponds but now weighs in at 245 lbs, so he has gained about 30 lbs. (Of course, we should also acknowledge that he seems to have grown an inch or two, even if the Spurs don’t want to acknowledge it.)

He went on to discuss how there’s a delicate balance between adding muscle and weight without losing his agility and athleticism, so he was many people working with him. He also revealed that because the temple’s vegan diet of mainly rice noodles and zucchini wasn’t sufficient enough for a professional athlete of his size, he would sneak out on occasion to get some meat.

Wemby respects Shaq as player, but not a journalist

At another point, Hart asked Wemby what he thought of Shaquille O’Neal’s repeated criticisms of the modern-day NBA, especially constantly calling today’s big men as soft and dismissing Wemby’s historic rookie campaign because he “shot too many jumpers”. He replied with a measured but not-so-subtle jab, saying he respects Shaq as a player but not so much as a journalist.

Shaq has always been one of my favorite players. But one of the journalists I like the least.

Still, true to his word about Shaq the player, he included him in his all-time starting five alongside Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tim Duncan. (Hart didn’t like the exclusion of Kobe Bryant, but Wemby justified it with needing an extra rebounder.)

Wemby may finally force LeBron into retirement

Speaking of LeBron, he had a funny moment on The Shop when he didn’t have an answer for how much longer he’ll play but joked that if Wemby keeps swatting his shots into the stands, he may give up and retire. Everyone laughed, with Wemby joking LeBron may still be playing even once he retires. When asked in all seriousness how much longer he thinks LeBron will keep playing, Wemby predicted two seasons, which would take LeBron to legendary 24 total seasons.

Wemby speaks about Pop’s retirement

Finally, during The Shop, Wemby was asked about Gregg Popovich’s recent retirement from coaching after he suffered a stroke back in November:

First of all, the person. We were all really close. We all have really good relationships between the teammates and him. It’s always sad and shocking when something like this happens. What’s incredible with him is that he keeps giving hope being the person that he is. He keeps inspiring us. Because the way he works, he works harder than most athletes in the world.

You can watch the entire episode of The Shop below.

The entire episode of Cold as Balls hasn’t been released on YouTube yet, but when/if it is, it will be on LOL Network’s YouTube channel. In the meantime, here are some more funny clips, such as the moment Wemby and Hart came out, with Wemby comically towering over the 5’2” comedian, as well as him saying there isn’t anyone in the league he fears going up against.