SAN ANTONIO (AP) \u2014 For all he had already accomplished in life, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama realized he truly had not done much.<\/p>\n
Lying in a hospital bed awaiting surgery that could potentially save his life, much less an NBA career, Wembanyama waited for relief from a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.<\/p>\n
It led the 21-year-old from France to take a two-week excursion to China to train his mind and body this summer. It spurred him to visit the NASA Space Center and broaden his imagination and his understanding of space exploration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, life isn\u2019t forever and there are some experiences we\u2019re going to miss on, it is inevitable, but I\u2019m going to miss on the least that I can,\u201d Wembanyama said Monday. \u201cI want to experience the most and this is something that I wanted to do and just because I\u2019m in the NBA, I\u2019m not going to keep myself from doing it. I want to experience those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The health scare has led to a healthier, happier and even taller Wembanyama.<\/p>\n
After being listed as 7-foot-3 in his first two seasons, Wembanyama is officially 7-4 and 240 pounds after another summer spent bulking up.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama\u2019s health, along with the return of De\u2019Aaron Fox and the additions of Luke Kornet and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper, have fueled hopes the Spurs will end a six-year playoff drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see how hard he works and how motivated he is,\u201d Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan said. \u201cI think he\u2019s super excited to see, and I think he\u2019s ready. I think you guys are going to see a lot that\u2019s going to shock you, and I think everyone\u2019s excited and can\u2019t wait to see him on the actual NBA court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming off winning Rookie of the Year in 2024, Wembanyama was literally towering over the world in the opening months of his second season in the NBA. In January he played in Paris as an NBA player for the first time, debuted in the All-Star Game in February, was on course to win Defensive Player of the Year for a time and his popularity was growing faster than he did as a youth.<\/p>\n
All of it halted when Wembanyama was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder shortly after the All-Star break, ending his season on Feb. 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I don\u2019t know where you heard it is thoracic on the thrombosis, but it was definitely a DVT,\u201d Wembanyama said, clarifying speculation.<\/p>\n
More concerning than not playing basketball, the blood clot in his right shoulder potentially could have traveled to his lungs and led to a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. <\/p>\n
That led to Wembanyama to many doctor\u2019s appointments and an urgent surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, of course, I mean it is life-changing,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI mean, spending so much time in hospitals and around doctors and hearing more bad news than I wish I heard. Of course, as you said, it is traumatic, but in the long run I think it\u2019s going to be very beneficial, because even though I don\u2019t wish it on nobody, it makes you understand lessons that nothing else could have made you understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not that Wembanyama was living an unrestrained life before his health scare. Since joining the league as an 18-year-old, Wembanyama goes to bed at 9 p.m., spends his days getting lost in the writings of science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson and constructing Lego models.<\/p>\n
But Wembanyama wanted more from his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty unique rabbit hole you can get down for someone of his age,\u201d Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. \u201cHe is so intentional on the variety of ways that he tries to improve as a player and a person. It\u2019s really something I\u2019ve never witnessed or experienced in my time. It\u2019s quite curious. It\u2019s quite constantly trying to push himself out his comfort zone and learn new things.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, Wembanyama followed through on his desire to explore the NASA Space Center in Houston and to visit the Shaolin Temple in China and study Buddhism, meditation and physical training with its monks.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraining with the monks was an incredible experience,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cVery much out of my comfort zone. It was my intent from the start, but that\u2019s probably as far a physical activity as I\u2019m used to doing. So it really paid off in terms of training and as a life experience as a curious person. It\u2019s just great.\u201d<\/p>\n
It led to Wembanyama to deliver his first \u201creal kicks\u201d during karate training and to increase his range of motion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my best summer so far,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI can tell the progress is just incredible. I feel better, I look stronger and the scale says I\u2019m heavier. So everything is a green light.\u201d<\/p>\n
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