How a summer in Paris shaped Spurs star Victor Wembanyama as a leader
· Yahoo Sports
The tallest tour guide in all of France led his sightseers through the usual checklist of Paris attractions.
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On your left is the Louvre. On your right is the Eiffel Tower. A boat trip down the Seine. A bike ride down the Champs-Élysées.
Turned loose in his hometown in August, Victor Wembanyama suddenly morphed into a 7-foot-4 Frommer's field manual.
For Carter Bryant and the handful of other Spurs in tow, the trip offered a glimpse of a different Victor Wembanyama. Back in his element, the world-famous basketball star was suddenly just a proud French kid, showing off to his friends the places that shaped him.
"It was great to see him teaching us about his world and where he grew up," Bryant said.
The homecoming carried weight for Wembanyama, too. He was touched so many of his teammates chose to cross the Atlantic and follow him down memory lane.
De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes, Jordan McLaughlin, Bryant and newcomer Tobias Harris all made the trip, joining Wembanyama for an excursion that blended offseason work with a peek at the world that made him.
"These people matter to me, this place matters to me," Wembanyama said. "Having the two of them together is kind of the same as when family comes to visit."
For Wembanyama, the excursion was about more than reconnecting with home.
It also offered a small but telling glimpse of the role he is growing into in San Antonio.
Entering his fourth NBA season, Wembanyama is no longer simply the Spurs' Xs-and-Os centerpiece. At the not-so-ripe-age of 22, the two-time All-Star is beginning to look suspiciously like a team leader, too.
"He's everything you want in a leader and a teammate," Castle said. "He works hard. He's not lazy. He looks out for his teammates, obviously cares for the guys, and he's a crazy good talent. It just speaks very high of his character."
Wembanyama's evolution as a leader could prove just as important to the Spurs' championship aspirations as anything he does with a basketball in his hands.
The towering Frenchman joined the Spurs three summers ago as a 19-year-old No. 1 overall pick, blessed with limitless potential but zero NBA experience.
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At first, there were established voices in San Antonio for Wembanyama to lean on.
Gregg Popovich, a Hall of Fame coach, was still running the day-to-day operation. During Wembanyama's second season, future Hall of Famer Chris Paul arrived to help guide him. Last season, he could still look to been-there, done-that veterans such as Barnes, Bismack Biyombo and Kelly Olynyk.
Season by season, those safety nets are disappearing.
Wembanyama has now been through some battles himself, including the Spurs' run to the NBA Finals last season.
He has gone from the kid being shown the way to the one increasingly expected to do the showing.
As Paris proved, Wembanyama is embracing the change.
"He's taking the initiative to make sure we stay tight and we continue to do things together, that we continue to communicate to each other in the moment and things like that," forward Keldon Johnson said.
San Antonio Spurs players Devin Vassell, from left, Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama participate in training camp at Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News)The most meaningful stop on the Spurs' Parisian tour this summer would never have appeared on a Collette itinerary.
Several mornings, before the sightseeing began, members of the Spurs' traveling party gathered for workouts in an unassuming gym in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
It was on this court, more than a decade ago, that Wembanyama took the first fledgling steps toward becoming Wembanyama.
He joined Nanterre's youth program at 10, made his professional debut for the club at 15 and stayed until 17, when he moved up a level to play for ASVEL.
Walking through the door for the first time, other Spurs could practically feel the history hanging from the rafters.
"That's where he started to really fall in love with the game of basketball and become what we see today," Bryant said. "He built it from the kid who was probably struggling to make left-hand layups, struggling to put the ball on the floor. His shoes were too big, so when he's trying to go between his legs, he's probably dribbling it off his foot.
"Him just growing as a person and as a basketball player - that's where it all started."
The message Wembanyama sent in Nanterre went beyond mere nostalgia.
Spurs teammates Carter Bryant, from left, De'Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama, Tobias Harris and Jordan McLaughlin at a practice at Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez in Nanterre, France. The group is working out together this week in Wembanyama's home country. (San Antonio Spurs)The moment the Spurs contingent stepped onto the court, Wemby the tour guide disappeared. In his place was Victor the taskmaster - first in line for the work, setting the standard for everyone else.
Wembanyama's work ethic impressed even the newest Spur.
"I've been in this league for 15 years," said Harris, a veteran forward who signed with the Spurs in July. "I have not seen a guy work as hard as he works."
For Harris, there was something particularly powerful about that kind of example coming from the team's best player.
"When you have that as your focal point of your team, your organization, it really sets the tone for everyone else to fall in line," Harris said. "When your best guys are the guys that are the hardest workers, it makes life a whole lot easier."
Back on U.S. soil, nearly a week into his fourth NBA training camp, Wembanyama has brought the lessons of Paris with him.
He showed his teammates where he came from. Now he is aiming to show them where they can go, together.
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