by Tim Reynolds
PARIS (AP) — The first enormous roar from the crowd came before the game even started. All Victor Wembanyama needed to do to get the fans in Paris into a full-blown frenzy was, it turned out, say hello into a microphone.
The cheering just from that lasted about 30 seconds.
Welcome home, Wemby. For the first time as an NBA player, Wembanyama played in his homeland on Thursday — the star attraction in this two-game set of games between San Antonio and Indiana, a series that concludes on Saturday night.
“Tonight was definitely different,” Wembanyama said. “It’s a different kind of support that the crowd brings. We try to use the circumstances to our advantage every time, and tonight was an easy night to use that.”
The sellout crowd wasn’t disappointed. Neither was Wembanyama. He had an incredible game — 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots — and the Spurs rolled to a 140-110 win, San Antonio’s second-largest victory margin of the season and Indiana’s second-largest defeat margin.
Countless fans showed up in Wembanyama jerseys. All of his jerseys, that is. Spurs jerseys in at least three different colors. French national team jerseys. The jerseys he wore when he played in the French league. NBA games are a big deal wherever they go in the world, but this was different. This was a homecoming and a celebration.
“I would just say it’s a pleasure to be part of a league with Victor Wembanyama,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said before the game.
Wembanyama got — by far — the loudest ovation when the starters were introduced. When his face was shown on the scoreboard video screens during the playing of France’s national anthem, the building simply roared. He won the opening tap to start the game; another roar. He missed the game’s first shot, drawing an audible groan. There weren’t many of those the rest of the way.
“It’s not easy to stop him,” Indiana guard Bennedict Mathurin said. “We do what we can. But he’s really good.”
This wasn’t Spurs-Pacers. This was Wemby and a lot of other guys. And if there was pressure, Wembanyama — the league’s reigning rookie of the year and a likely All-Star this season — didn’t seem fazed.
“The ovation for him obviously was very, very moving just in terms of a reflection of how this city and country and these people feel about him and he feels about them,” acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “There’s certain games you know you don’t need to get the guys up for, as you say. This was one of them.”
The Spurs knew before the game that Wembanyama was ready. Harrison Barnes revealed that Wembanyama took over the team’s locker room musical selections. He picked French artists.
“He was excited for today,” Barnes said.
Poor Boomer. He’s the Pacers mascot. He’s a blue, furry thing. Part of his in-game tasks include wearing oversized mitts on his hands and encouraging fans to clap for some defense. This ordinarily works wonders at Pacers home games, which this matchup technically was, at least on paper.
Boomer was foiled repeatedly on Thursday. Cheering with him, you see, meant fans would have been cheering against Wembanyama’s Spurs. Not going to happen. Not in Paris.Technically, it might have happened once. Wembanyama had a spectacular block late in the third quarter, and had it counted it would have been his fourth in as many possessions. The crowd evidently didn’t see referee Zach Zarba gesturing for goaltending, so the basket counted — and that was the only Pacers basket that the French crowd cheered.
“I thought it was a great environment,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I don’t know what Victor said before the game, but whatever he said worked. They played a great game. Victor’s a great player. The country of France should be very, very proud. He’s a one of a kind. He’s a once every I-don’t-know-how-many-generations a player like that comes along. Just breathtaking, the things that he does.”
Carlisle is right, of course. Everyone is often impressed by Wembanyama. Except Wembanyama. He doesn’t get caught up in highlights or hyperbole. He insists that he only wants to win.
“Tonight, I’m proud of my team,” Wembanyama said. “It was perfect. It was a perfect evening. We had the win and we won the right way.”
