Victor Wembanyama is entering his fourth NBA season with championship experience to learn from and an individual goal in mind: winning the league's Most Valuable Player award. In a preseason interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes, the 22-year-old San Antonio Spurs center discussed the challenges of developing his game, recovering from disappointment and building a life beyond basketball.
The 7-foot-4 French player combines the reach to dunk without leaving the floor with ballhandling and three-point shooting skills. He is also the NBA's reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Asked how he approaches a career without an obvious model to follow, Wembanyama said his unusual playing style and adjustment to a different country require him to accept uncertainty and discover his own answers.
San Antonio defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to claim the Western Conference title before losing the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks in five games despite being favored. Wembanyama acknowledged that he had fallen short of his best. Reflecting on his physical treatment of Knicks star Jalen Brunson and the criticism surrounding it, he said the episode exposed his limitations and reinforced the need to concentrate on playing basketball to win.
Wembanyama described San Antonio as a strong fit because of its winning history, French connections and Gregg Popovich, whom he called the greatest coach ever. Popovich retired from coaching in 2025 after suffering a stroke, having guided the Spurs to five championships. Wembanyama said one enduring lesson from his former coach was humility: victories can make players overestimate their performance, while defeats can leave them judging themselves too harshly.
A blood clot in his shoulder ended Wembanyama's second season and prompted greater attention to conditioning. He places particular emphasis on strengthening his feet, regularly walking barefoot and choosing minimalist shoes. He believes foot strength and posture affect the knees, hips and back, making them central to his movement and long-term career. The thrombosis also changed his personal outlook, he said, encouraging him to express himself more openly and spend less time trying to be someone else.
His interests have taken him well beyond conventional basketball training. During the summer of 2025, he stayed with Buddhist monks in China to study kung fu and meditate. He described the extended periods of silence as difficult. On the court, he uses brief moments between free throws to clear his thoughts before concentrating on the shot. He put his free-throw percentage at 82 percent.
During a return to France this past summer, Wembanyama attended his annual tournament in Nanterre, which brings together basketball and chess. He sees a connection between the sports through decision-making and the search for good moves. He also welcomed Spurs teammates to France, spending time with them on the court and on the Seine, a visit he said meant a great deal to him.
With the new NBA season less than two weeks old, Wembanyama remained direct about his ambitions. Asked whether he should have received the previous season's MVP award, he rejected that suggestion and instead turned his attention to the coming campaign: “I should win it this year though.”
