{"id":739039,"date":"2026-05-20T05:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T05:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/739039\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T05:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T05:33:18","slug":"he-cant-be-from-this-planet-inside-victor-wembanyamas-alien-nickname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/739039\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He can\u2019t be from this planet\u2019: Inside Victor Wembanyama\u2019s \u2018Alien\u2019 nickname"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 San Antonio Spurs<\/a> star Victor Wembanyama already has a reputation as one of basketball\u2019s most unique talents. At 7-foot-4 with guard-like ballhandling, perimeter shooting and shot-blocking ability, the 22-year-old has inspired one nickname that continues to stick among fans: \u201cThe Alien.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around San Antonio, many Spurs supporters say the nickname fits because of the seemingly impossible plays Wembanyama makes on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe universe wants the Spurs to win,\u201d one fan said during a downtown gathering. \u201cThat\u2019s why we got Wemby. That\u2019s why we got the Alien.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others described the Spurs star as \u201cotherworldly\u201d and a \u201cgenetic anomaly\u201d because of the combination of size and skill he brings to the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big with that shooting capability is always great,\u201d said fan Sidney Green, adding, \u201che can\u2019t be from this planet.\u201d <\/p>\n

The nickname has only gained momentum as Wembanyama continues producing highlight-reel moments. One of the latest came when he buried a deep pull-up 3-pointer from nearly 30 feet away to tie a game in the closing seconds.<\/p>\n

>> SCHEDULE: NBA sets TV broadcasts, tipoff times for Spurs-Thunder Western Conference Finals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my God, why did he shoot that?\u2019\u201d fan J\u2019uan Scott said. \u201cI was like, \u2018That\u2019s a bad shot,\u2019 but I guess it wasn\u2019t a bad shot for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

For most players, attempting a shot from that distance would likely earn criticism from a coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d say, \u2018Never shoot that again,\u201d Green joked when asked how his own coach would react.<\/p>\n

Still, Wembanyama\u2019s confidence and range are already influencing young basketball fans. At a local park, kids repeatedly shouted \u201cWemby!\u201d while trying to recreate the Spurs star\u2019s deep game-tying shot.<\/p>\n

Most attempts missed, though participants blamed windy conditions and the sheer difficulty of the shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think it\u2019s a bad shot,\u201d one participant said. \u201cI can\u2019t believe he shot that.\u201d<\/p>\n

After several attempts, a few fans finally knocked down the long-range shot. One participant, the president of the Spurs superfan group the Jackals, made it on the first try and celebrated immediately afterward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason Vic chose me!\u201d the fan shouted.<\/p>\n

For many Spurs supporters, however, \u201cThe Alien\u201d nickname goes beyond Wembanyama\u2019s basketball ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just his down-to-earthness,\u201d a member of the Spurs Jackals fan group said. \u201cHe is something out of this world because he\u2019s the whole full package \u2014 personality, the skill, the drive, the ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Wembanyama\u2019s career continues, fans in San Antonio appear more than ready to embrace the nickname \u2014 and the out-of-this-world expectations that come with it.<\/p>\n

More Spurs<\/a> coverage on KSAT:<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama already has a reputation as one of basketball\u2019s most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,6,88744,969,474,4075,4074,534,693],"class_list":["post-739039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio-spurs","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-race-for-seis","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sanantonio","tag-sanantoniospurs","tag-spurs","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116605275566894355","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}