Oscar Wembanyama, the 19-year-old French combo forward for SIG Strasbourg and younger brother of San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, sat down with HoopsHype for an exclusive interview at the 19th edition of adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy.
Wembanyama discussed making the jump from Strasbourg’s junior squad to earning minutes on the senior roster, leaning on his basketball-rich family for advice, and what he wants scouts to notice about his game… all while his older brother was 5,000 miles away playing the NBA Finals.
The conversation came on the back of a strong showing in Treviso. The 6-foot-9 Wembanyama posted 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in a lopsided win over Team.
Last year you dominated with your junior team, but this year you joined Strasbourg’s first team in France’s top division. Mentally, how did you adjust from getting unlimited reps to earning minutes off the bench?
Oscar Wembanyama: Yeah, well, I had a new coach this year. There was a new coach for the pro team. And like, start of the season, he told me like you have to be more focused, you have to be more focused and bring a lot more of energy and just being in the like mental state of you’re in a pro court you have to perform you have to be focused, bring energy, not mess up things in offense, be being in in the right place in defense, and it’s just, yeah, being more focused. That was my biggest issue and I’ve improved a lot.
Do you lean on your parents or your brother for advice now that you’re a pro, especially when it comes to staying focused and getting ahead of the curve?
OW: They always try to help me. I ask them questions when I’m messed up or something’s not clear. When I need advice, I know I can turn on my sister, my brother, my parents. They always have good advices. I have a really security feeling about being well surounded.
Everyone asks about your brother, but I want to focus on you. How do you describe your game, and how would you sell yourself as a player?
OW: I think I’m a very versatile player. I can play multiple positions and also defend on multiple positions. And since I started late, I had to work on every aspect of my game. What makes me a good player today is the way I worked on every aspect of the game. Like I improve on everything, on shooting, on handle, on passing, on defense. And I think that’s what makes me and will make me a good player. I think that’s the versatility and being creative on the court, not having like limits and all the mind work about the game.
You said you started late. What were you doing, playing football?
OW: No, I was playing handball. I started basketball in 2021 when I was 14.
Why handball?
OW: I used to play handball. I started when I was eight, so pretty young. I was playing with friends in my city. It was a pretty big thing in my city, in my hometown because they had like a good team. So, I had all my friends playing handball and I was doing pretty good. So I played like five years of handball. And then after the COVID lockdown, I stopped and I switched to basketball.
Do you miss handball?
OW: No, no, no. ‘Cause I like basketball so much, I don’t miss it. I don’t miss it. But I stopped on purpose. So I chose to stop, so I don’t miss it.
Is there anything that translates from handball to basketball?
OW: Yeah. When you play as a young age, team sports, it’s a lot of running, a lot of passing, and just team chemistry. So it’s pretty similar to basketball, but what’s very different is the footwork and the physicality context. So I had to really change the way of playing against other people.
What do you want to prove about your game here, and what is something people might be missing?
OW: I think the defense is very important. It’s so important in today’s game just to be trustful on defense and eventually bring steals, deflections and everything. But I think the part of my game I really want to improve is the playmaking, I’d say. because when you play at the small forward position there’s not always a place for you to have the ball in your hands, create for the others, because it’s a position where you really play off the ball. I can play off the ball, I always like to learn how to play off the ball, but I think I really can bring something when playing pick-and-roll, transition basketball. I think that’s one of my strengths.
Coming from a basketball family, and with Victor Wembanyama as your brother, do you feel pressure from the comparisons, or do you tune out the noise?
OW: I mean, it’s definitely not easy. I think every athlete that has a family member that went pro knows what it is. People recognize you without you doing nothing. But I think I just don’t care about a lot of things. social media, people knowing you. Like, I don’t care about that. I care about the people that are close to me. So I think I do a pretty good job just shutting the noise around me. But it’s definitely, it’s definitely like I have a big name. my brother’s the best player in the world. So I cannot ignore that. And nobody does, I’d say it’s a different type of pressure.
Is it weird or annoying?
OW: Yeah, sometimes it’s annoying when you have down time. When you’re not feeling so great, it’s always difficult to deal with all the intentions you have, but it’s a part of being a professional. I mean, the only thing that changed for me is that all the attention comes early in my career. But eventually, if you become a professional basketball player, you have to deal with it – media, fans, haters. It’s life. So I will never complain about it.
You see a difference on the court?
OW: Yeah. Sometimes, yeah. I think there’s players who want to prove (themselves), especially when I was a little bit younger. Now I don’t see the difference no more. But when I started, I could see the type of players that wanted to attack me a lot. Yeah, definitely.
Have you ever told your brother or talked about that stuff or you don’t bother him?
OW: Yeah, I mean we have a… Right now he’s in the playoffs, so we don’t talk that much. But when we have off times, holidays and stuff, we talk about everything. So we can talk about it. I mean, we have already. But he’s my brother, so we talk about a lot of things.
Your sister is probably going through the same thing that you’re going through.
OW: Yeah, my sister too. Yeah, the three of us are, we are really, really close.
Little group chat.
OW: Yeah, we have the group chat and we’re really close and, when we have times together, we always take care of everyone and make sure everyone’s okay, everyone healthy, everyone is in good state of mind. Yeah, so we take care of everybody.
What do you do to relax? Are you like your brother going on adventures or are you more of a throw on some anime and watch some movie with friends?
OW: I’m a very chill dude. But I ain’t gonna lie, I spend a lot of time in the gym. So when I’m home, I just eat, sleep, rest. That’s the basketball life. But yeah, when we’re together, we spend a lot of time doing games, games as a family.
Like what games?
OW: Board games. We play a lot of board games. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very competitive.
Favorite board game?
OW: Small World. It’s a great game.
I’ll check it out.
OW: Great board game. When you play like four or five players, that’s great (laughing) And when we got time together, yeah, a lot of activities when we can just spend as much time as we can.
Who do you think’s the best player regardless of sports?
OW: Ronaldo.
Which one?
OW: CR7. Yeah, that’s my idol. I grew up a Ronaldo fan, and a Real Madrid fan.Yeah. But yeah, he’s my favorite athlete, favorite personality. And I really try to approach the game the way he does, being very aggressive, being like, wanting to be the best player on the court when you step on it. And yeah, I’d say that’s my idol.
Who’s your current Top 5 in the NBA?
OW: Current Top five? Counting the playoffs?
Yeah, you can count the playoffs, yeah.
OW: I’d say my brother [Victor] first. I think the second best player in the world right now would be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Then [Jalen] Brunson. And after that, that’s difficult. After the Top 3, that’s… I really like the way [Stephon] Castle plays, but some people would say he turns the ball over too much. I’d say, I’d say Karl-Anthony Towns four and Castle five.
What does it mean to be here at an event representing adidas?
OW: Well, it’s great. It’s a very big event, so I’m very happy to be there, very thankful. And yeah, to represent adidas is a great opportunity, too. A very big brand, so that’s cool.
And you, what are you trying to take away from the coaches, the special guest mentors? Are you trying to ask questions? What are you trying to take from this?
OW: Well, before questions you should always listen, first off. Because sometimes they answer questions you haven’t asked yet. So, always listen to the coaches. Listen to the players. I know there’s gonna be like some ideas players coming. it’s people that made it. So you have to respect it. You have to definitely like learn as much as you can. And yeah, just listen to them. I’m never shy to ask questions. So, when I see someone, if I have to say something, I just ask, but, yeah, always learning as much as you can is very important for me.
