“Win it all”: Victor Wembanyama shows the color before the NBA playoffs with the Spurs

Big day crowd at Spurs training: around thirty journalists came to set up their microphones and camera stands at the San Antonio franchise’s training center this Wednesday in the middle of the day. Four days before the first match of the NBA playoffs, Sunday against Portland (3 hours, in the night from Sunday to Monday in France), Victor Wembanyama interrupted his session to come and speak to the press and share his feelings on his first participation in an NBA final phase.

In what state of mind are you approaching these playoffs, your first in the NBA, the first for the Spurs since 2019?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA. Everyone is hyperfocused, more involved. I missed these high-stakes matches. There were matches in the regular season that were more interesting than others, but at this level of stakes, you have to go back to the Olympic Games to find what comes closest. I can’t stop dreaming, but I have to keep my feet on the ground. Before even thinking about the first match, you have to think about training, about everything you have to do every day, about preparation, about setting an example, about seriously studying the opponent.

Do you feel greater pressure on your shoulders?

Not yet ! I don’t feel any different attention from the regular season yet. I imagine that we will feel it rising more and more in the coming days. But the progress of the play-ins increases the excitement a little. I haven’t watched the matches yet (Editor’s note: which were played on Tuesday evening) but you can already feel that something has changed. I’m as ready as I can be. We work all year round, but also our whole career, for these moments. We dreamed of it when we were kids. Among my first NBA memories are the finals between Miami and San Antonio (2013 and 2014)…

“It’s the first time I’ve rested so much”

What would a successful playoffs mean to you?

If we fight with honors, we play the matches we want but we lose the series 4-0, what can we say? But a successful journey, for me, would be to win everything. I hope that when we look back in a few years’ time, what we have achieved so far will be eclipsed by the results we achieved at the end of the season.

What do you think of Portland, your first-round opponent?

It’s a physical team, very active, intense. This is not an easy team to play. They made the playoffs in the not-so-distant past. And even during their poor results in recent seasons, they were very difficult to face.

You were hit in the ribs last week, but you will have benefited from nine days of break. What physical state are you in?

I think I’m close to my regular season form. This is the first time I’ve rested for so many days in a row. Nine days is a long time. I completely trust the staff to manage us. I did a little cardio to get back into the swing of things, but the most important thing when you stop for a long time is to get back into the swing of things. We have to find the automatisms.