Victor Wembanyama is all about business. Even in the NBA All-Star Game, the San Antonio Spurs' star big man always brings his 100 percent, and he did just that on Sunday.
Although Wembanyama and Team World never made it to the championship round of the All-Star Weekend tournament, he showed everyone just how competitive he is by going all out in the two games his team played.
Wembanyama's competitiveness, even in exhibition games, reflects his respect for basketball.
“It's the game we love. Being competitive is the least I can do,” Wembanyama told reporters after the event (h/t ESPN).
In Team World's first game in the round robin against Team Stars, Victor Wembanyama dropped 14 points and added six rebounds and three blocks in a 37-35 overtime loss.
In the following game against Team Stripes, the top overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft racked up 19 points with two rebounds, but his impressive performance was ultimately wasted in a 48-45 loss to Kawhi Leonard and company. Leonard, a former Spurs star, led the way for Team Stripes in that contest, as he went off for 31 points on 11-for-13 shooting from the floor.
The 22-year-old Wembanyama also simply does not like losing, a mindset that the Spurs must be happy that their franchise cornerstone has.
At the All-Star break, the French star has averaged 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 blocks, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from behind the arc through 40 games.
Wembanyama should make plenty more All-Star appearances in the future, but those can wait.
For now, he and the Spurs will look to keep it going, as they now prepare for a game against the Phoenix Suns at home on Thursday.
