WEMBANYAMA : exclusive interview (Olympics, Spurs, personal life...)

Making of - Hi Victor, how are you? - How are you? Pleased to meet you. - All right, nice to meet you. - It's good to see you. - Likewise. - Welcome! Well, it's kind of your place, actually. - Yeah, right. - Because this was your training place for a long time. - My first training sessions, that's what makes it special. - What were you, about ten? - 10 years old. - Recognize this? - I don't even know this photo. That's at the park next door from my parents' home. - Insta profile picture, I said go for it. - Yeah, right. This one, well... I didn't wear this one but I wore one. - The Olympics, of course. What is it? Is it impatience you're feeling? - Yes, it's the Olympics. - The effect will be twofold. - We can settle in if you want. - Let's go. I like the Nanterre mug. - You see, we found some little things. You might have that one. Alright! It's a pleasure to have you for a chat. - My pleasure. - Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Victor Wembanyama. At just 20 years old, from the height of 2m24, Victor is approached as the future of global basketball. Last year, he joined the NBA in the United States, in the San Antonio club, the Spurs. And at the end of its first season at the highest level, he's voted Best Rookie, in other words, best young player of the year. And beyond that, he confirmed and reconfirmed that it could be one of the sport's greatest legends. So I meet him where it all started for him, in Nanterre, a few days before the Olympics Games where he will play for the French national team. He hopes to challenge the biggest teams to fetch a gold medal in Paris this summer and keep on marking the basketball History. Thanks again for taking a little time to talk together. - My pleasure, especially in this place. - It's a pleasure to be here. Do you know how this interview works? - Yes, shall we start now? - Are you ready? Go ahead, anytime, I'll let you press it. I Let's see where it stops. On the alien, as luck would have it. Behind this symbol, Someone has asked a question, I'll let you discover it and then we talk about it afterward. - Hi Victor, nice to meet you, huge fan, obviously, like many French people here who don't sleep to look at you at night. I don't thank you for these timetables but really, congratulations. I just wanted to know the nickname, the alien, you have in the NBA, Did you choose it? Did they give it to you? And if we gave it to you and you don't have really chosen, do you like it? - Good question from Pierre Niney who is a huge NBA and basketball fan. Where does this name come from, the alien? - Thank you Pierre, and I'd like to specify that no one forced you to stay awake, streaming exists. Just kidding. Thank you very much anyway. The alien means something new, unknown, strange, and it's also what I'm trying to bring to the game and my team. And even in life in general, I always try to bring something different to people. I attach great importance to originality, to being unique. - There's this word, alien, we also know that it's been... As early as 2022, we heard LeBron James use it to describe you. - And it's when it was really popularized. It's thanks to him and we hadn't discussed it beforehand. - You didn't call him to tell him, You have to say I'm an alien. - But in any case I was pleased because it's hard to get rid of a nickname once we have it. - And so there's a legend of basketball, LeBron James, who from 2022, before you join the NBA, describes you like that, he has these compelling words, we said, it came quite early. How do you experience it, at that time, in 2022, that you're still playing in France, and you hear these words, do you feel pressure? Is it a pleasure? How do you deal with it? - Frankly, not at all at that time and I'm glad that it happened that way. I was in France, I was involved in an intense and competitive season. And so I really wasn't wearing attention to all the buzz, all declarations, etc. because I was really into my season and the season ended maybe 3 or 4 days before the Draft, so, before the day of my life. And on the day of the final I wasn't thinking about the Draft at all, not even for a second, I was into it. - So that everyone has the context, including those who don't know basketball, the Draft is when we hear you're joining the NBA, it was already maybe a few weeks that we knew it, but above all, we're going to know the name of your team. And on that note we came across this video of yours, - I think you'd obviously seen it. - Of course. - From what we see here, it's the Spurs fans who realize so that's before the Draft, without going into detail, but they know they will be able to select you as a player in the NBA. When you see this, even then, there's no pressure, you're not like, there's an expectation on your shoulders while this is your first season at the highest level of basketball. - No, no pressure but a great feeling of comfort and luck because the lottery, I followed it live from Paris. And my reaction, inside my head, it was the same; it was this. This is the Roo Pub in San Antonio. I went there by the way, even if I'm not 21. So, yes, I felt really connected to this city, and I had already the feeling before the lottery that this was where I would have to go and I'd like to go. There's no pressure, no, no pressure. - It's true that it's a special club that has a history a powerful identity which is also extremely strong. I was lucky enough to see you play at the end of the season, I went to see you in San Antonio. - Are you serious? Incognito. - Yes, I went to see you against Philadelphia and against Denver at the very end of the season. - Good games. - Very nice games. And I was, indeed, not surprised, but quite shocked to see the buzz around you. And it's obviously on match days but it's more than just match days, you know it , there are some frescoes of your face around town, we feel you're there you're very present and it's a city who loves basketball. I guess it's just as important for you at that moment to feel at home, even if you are thousands of miles from home. - I've been telling myself ever since... No matter where I go, that would be the best place. But the fact that it's San Antonio, it makes things a lot simpler. Because, as you said, the craze is incredible and fans and even the town's inhabitants, everyone's a fan. So they really elevate their players and they carry them upwards. They really carry a love for the franchise, for the players, that makes this place truly comfortable, like I told you. There's really some kindness in this city. - Yes, San Antonio is a vibrant city for basketball, so it shows. II We'll spin the wheel again if you want, I'll let you press again. - Let's go. - Where will it stop? On a camera. We're not going to start a photo shoot or anything, but behind it there is a small photo that I wanted us to look at together. It's a photo that goes back to when, 2015, something like that? - I was 10 or 11 years old. - Yeah, you were 10 or 11. Except that here, we see it, we're not in a gym, we're on a soccer pitch, you've had a start, in any case, you played soccer for quite a long time. - Yes, that's right. After that, I always played basketball, but I've done other sports at the same time, but soccer was the one I've been doing it the longest. - With an extra role, as we can see here, your shirt is not the same, we have a nice video that you relayed I believe on Twitter. - But it’s not bad, attitudes are there. - In real, you have elasticity, it feels clean. - The roulade is fluid. - It's not bad, frankly. Do you think you could have been a pro? - Yes, clearly. But if I can do what I do in basketball today, I have no doubt that I could have done it in a sport that I love as much as soccer. - When you look at these photos and you're about 10 years old, physically, you're definitely different, very different and I'm sure that from that age we'll tell you about it, and again, etc. - Even before. - Yeah. Can you still feel it today? - Yeah, a lot less than before, but, let's say yes, it's something that I've lived all my life, and being different, but without that being a problem. I've always used this as a strength and I would have never wanted it to be different. Really, I would never have wanted to be a centimeter shorter. Here, I am trying to embrace all that energy. - And it's a question that we can ask ourselves, so that people understand all this as well, like we said, you're over 2m20. Sports-wise, it's a huge potential, but I guess it's also something that needs to be accompanied. When you're that tall, is there an easier risk of injury? What are the elements of vigilance you had? - Yeah, sure, including easier injuries, more constraints, longer limbs so more constraints. The weight is also higher naturally, so more constraints. But for me, what I've learned in recent months is that I have a different body, of course, so I can't work in the same way. I can't do what works for normal people on my body. So, I'm really trying to find new ways of working, but while keeping a sort of harmony in the body. Trying to be gracious because injury-prone profiles, are the profiles where we see that there are some malfunctions. Sometimes too muscular, sometimes not. Too much on the toes, too aerial, not stable enough, lots of things. So, we try to keep that harmony. - We'll spin the wheel if you want. - Come on, let's go. - I'll let you press whenever you want. III You change the methods as we go along. - Yes, I'll test everything. - Now that's a little gift. Behind that, in general, on these interviews, there's a question there or a short message from someone. I'll let you find out and we talk about it afterward. - Well, Victor, you’re not responding on Instagram since you've been in the NBA. Asshole. Well I don't know if you remember but the first time we saw each other, at least I saw you, and you got a torticollis. You said, wow, I never thought to live this moment in my life than meeting you, you're a legend. Three weeks later, you're drafted number 1 of the Draft by the San Antonio Spurs and it's everyone's dream basketball players on earth. Including me. But there's something you forgot, it's the vlogs you were doing when you were still in Levallois. Where are these vlogs? I want to follow your life so when are you doing vlogs again? Well, maybe a serious question. Given the season you've done. Have done, the season you did, have done. Hugo, I don't know. And considering your stats, is there anything, which, potentially, we can't see, but you have the feeling that you can improve in your game? Is there always stuff to improve and what do you think it is? Oh, and for the match in Paris, some courtside seats. You told me you loved my videos so that's the least you can do, right? - That's the thing about people, they always have something in mind, - they always come back for more. - It's opportunistic. - Opportunistic, yeah. - People, they change. - There are things to say. - Well, we'll do it in order. I don't answer too much on Instagram. You're not the only one. I don't answer too much anymore on Instagram at all. But you have my number, you can text me. For the tickets in Paris, of course, with pleasure. - He was smart, he posed his request in front of lots of people so he knows that you can't say no. - So, for the vlogs, OK, I'll try vlogging then. I know that in Levallois, we did some. - I'm just showing the context, we found it, a small video context at the time. - Hello guys, we here again for a new Vegas vlog. We're at the airport, we're going to Vegas, we're going to take the bus, then we'll take the plane. We're going to play basketball. Feel free to subscribe, to put a thumb up and give strength. We'll be right back. Activate the bell. - There are good reflexes, you ask people to subscribe, whatever it takes. - The truth is, I've never had a YouTube channel. By the way, anecdote, for years, someone spoofed me on YouTube. - Really? - I swear. - Who acted like it was you? - Yes, it was horrible. Who even reposted this video. So everyone thought it was my chain. - And who was talking about basketball. - In fact, the content was really uninteresting, it was only Highlights, but the guy was so active it was... I swear I suffered, he still remembers. - The message got through, and people thought that it was you who put on your Highlights, - your big moments. - They were commenting on crazy stuff on videos, people thought... Anyway. Bad memory. So, vlogs, it was for the Mets channel, from Levallois. So, I took my camera. - We can tell you're at ease, you've got the reflexes. And the last question was about, Do you feel that there are things you need to improve on or that you still have to change in your game? - Of course. To have a repertoire of more concrete moves because there are many things I'm comfortable with, but I'd like to have more Go to Moves, we call it, moves that we make in a way automatic, which we master perfectly. But also to become a top-level playmaker with a top-level NBA champion, I want to be a champion quickly, and I know that it will involve play collectively and make my teammates better, so that's my goal. - You were indeed talking about gestures. All the great players, or almost all great NBA and basketball players, they have, as you say, their moves, their gestures, their thing that people recognize, they think, it’s this or this player. It's something you have in your head, or you say to yourself, I need to have my thing, do you tell yourself will it come if there's something? - Yes, it will come. It'll come, but it's not that's the way to think, you have to think the other way around, I'm going to have the best-performing move and I hope it will become iconic. - We've seen a lot this year so we feel that there's... - There's plenty to choose from. - There's plenty to choose from, there are things to work on. We were talking about the social networking side of things. How do you feel about this exhibition? So we're talking about social networks but in general, too. We were talking about pressure earlier, but it can also just be, try to hear the feedback, of commentators, analysts, about your game. Is it something you look at or you try to isolate yourself from it when you play? - Clearly, it's something from which I began to isolate myself with Levallois. Before, I was on the social networks. Well, not much, but like a normal kid. So yeah, I was seeing all this, but when it got bigger, I really isolated myself because it's feedback I don't need. It's not something that will feed me, journalists, broadcasts, etc. It's not something that will feed me positively and in addition, it's something that even if you think you're immune to negative feedback, it still has an impact and I thought, I'm going to maximize my performance, I don't need it, I'll take it off. - Especially when there's sometimes, I have the impression, a form of impatience to get results. I don't know how you felt about it, but I remember, from the start of the season, so these were your first games and we felt that there was a desire for results, or to play as much as possible, etc. Above all, we felt that, on the side of your coach, Gregg Popovich, a desire to test things and say, you are here for, maybe 15 years, 20 years in the NBA. We have time to build things and I imagine there's also a question rhythm and temporality and not be under pressure, having to respond to expectations or things. - It's a pretty tough thing to do, to be patient, but reason tells me that it's the right thing to do because in the NBA it's easy to take the wrong road. - Yes, it's also something where, here again, I'm trying to explain to those who do not follow necessarily basketball or what, but a club is built, I mean a team, it takes several years to form, young people are coming. Of course, now you're the face of this new generation at the Spurs, but it can take... Let's see how much time, I don't know if you still have this impatience to win. - That's for sure. - That's normal. - But I tell myself I'm doing the maximum in the present moment. IV - We'll move on if you want with the next symbol. - OK. - New symbol. In this case it's a little hourglass. - All right. - The principle is very simple. Basically, in 60 seconds, I'll ask you as many questions as I can. The idea is for you to answer yes, no, or pass, or give a Joker if you want put a Joker on a question. - It's OK? - Let's go. - 3, 2, 1. Here we go. - Do you believe in aliens? - Yes. - Will there be a gold medal soon on your hit list? - Yes. - Do you think you'll be All-Star next year? - Yes. - Does Mister V have a good level of basketball? - I was going to say there's only yes, for now, but there... - Bonus, Joker. - We have to test. Score 100 points in one game, do you think you'll ever do it? - Joker. - Is life better in the U.S. than here? - No. - Are Star Wars your favorite movies? - Yes. - Should we add a 4-point line, - in addition to the 3-point line? - No. - Is One Piece the best anime? - No. - Could you have been a pro in soccer? - Yes. - Can the Spurs be champions within 5 years? - Yes. - Are you good at NBA 2K? - No. - Are you looking forward to playing with the Spurs in Paris in 2025? - Absolutely, yes. - Have you gotten used to Texas weather? - Yes. - Do you listen to Alpha Wann before a game ? - Yes, too. - Have you achieved all your dreams? - No. - Is 82 games per season too much? - No. - Is Gregg Popovich your basketball Yoda? - Yes. - And last question, are you tired of people talking about your size? - Yes. - It's part of what you told me earlier. - You see I sighed, it annoys me; it's redundant. - It's there, and you deal with it. Well, you barely used any Joker. What did you put a Joker on? - Mister V, but it's just so as not to hurt him. - No, frankly you've answered everything and you were talking about Gregg Popovich, so for the context, he is your coach at the Spurs, and it's true that you can tell there's a mentor in him obviously, because he's your coach but also because we know that he's a figure of basketball today. It's a relationship that's settled quickly enough between you? - Yeah, mostly thanks to his desire and benevolence to do things right. I have the impression that his players are the people he loves the most. Apart from his family of course, but he's really close to us. V - We can spin the wheel if you want. - Let's go. - I'll let you press. You've really got the moves; I love it. It's a little bubble and behind that bubble, there is a quote from an interview that you did some time ago. I'll let you read it out loud and then after that, we can talk about it. - "I feel like I'm immune to distractions I'm told to pay attention to," "too much going out, alcohol, drugs..." "Why would I do all this? I have nothing to compensate for." - Do you already want to try to explain a little, not necessarily the context of this sentence, but what you mean by that. - Yeah, sure. It's all the things against which young people are warned, and also professional players, not just in basketball. I don't care about most of them. - There's indeed something where you exude a kind of maturity and serenity, too, in things while we could say, after a year in the spotlight from all over the world, it changes you or something, have you always had this kind of serenity? Or did you build it up as you went along? - Let's just say I've always knew it was there, but still, I'm reassured for not having changed after a year or even longer in the spotlight. I am proud and satisfied. - And there's also a question of balance that I find quite fascinating, so you had, I think it was during an interview that you declared you try as hard as you can at least when it's not match nights to cut after 9pm and try to keep a healthy rhythm. Why is this important? and silly question, but, it's really feasible, and you can do it to keep this kind of balance with a rhythm we know in the NBA. - Yeah, absolutely. On the other hand, I have known a difficulty this year, was to get rid of that intensity, these tactical requirements and basketball techniques because we have a game in less than 24 hours and we had one 3 hours ago. So sometimes it's hard because we need to prepare mentally. But it's hard to do roller coasters. Very high intensity and then we go very low, but we need it. 3 or 4 times this year, it has been difficult. - Yeah, you felt that... Because people also have to, for those who don't follow basketball; you play 82 games? - Yes, 3 to 4 times a week. - Yeah, it's still an immense rhythm, more intense than what you were doing in France. - Much more. - I understand that in an attempt to cut or disconnect a little, you had a few passions, including, - I don't know if you saw what was here. - I saw it. - A little artwork. - If you want. - OK. - I brought you some pencils. - Thank you. - When you draw, I don't know if you've had time to draw this year, - Did you have time? - Yeah, sure. I draw, I do other things too, but all these things, especially artistic, yeah, it helps me to retreat in my cocoon. - And I find that it's also a thing where the... Go ahead; I'll let you draw at the same time. - I need to think to what I'm going to draw. - I could draw you. - Go ahead, if you want. - You can talk. - No, but it's true that, what I found quite fascinating was I think there are plenty of young people who dream of going pro, who dream of making their dreams come true whatever the field. We often have this mentality or that feeling that to get there, you don't have to count your hours, to make immense sacrifices and put an end to all your other passions or dreams. What you're talking about here, too is a willingness to say no, keep a balance. And I don't know how you feel about it but this balance in any case. - Of course, I don't think anyone can't be 100% at full throttle all the time and in a matrix because the mind gets dull and it needs to be polished. For me it's important to maximize training times but also to maximize moments of rest. It's as important as training. - Were you given any guidance or advice? - No, really, I've always had many passions so it wasn't something that I needed to work on. I just can't live without it. - And so, the passions you have the drawing. You've got other stuff that make you feel good? - Of course, I write a bit. - OK. - Reading, of course, every night, I need my book to sleep. Of course spend time with family, friends. What I also love, I found out more recently, - Would you please get back like this? - Yes, of course. - A little more recently, it was board games. Recently I discovered that I really liked it. And there you have it. - What about the writing side? - It's quite personal. - It's kind of, not a diary, but something where you express yourself and allows you to externalize, I guess. - Yeah, right. - Very nice. If you want in the meantime that you finish the drawing, what I wanted us to do, if you're ok, is that you could recommend us, if you had a movie you wanted to recommend, you want to recommend to those who follow us. - Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith. - Classic, we felt it. I think we had something else. - A series. - A series, I would say Game of Thrones, - clearly my favorite. - Alright. And I think we have 1 or 2 left, a manga or anime. - A manga is Attack on Titan, of course. - Is there any last one left? An album you'd recommend? Old, new, whatever. - Of course, UMLA from Alpha Wann or Ouest Side from Booba. - So, rap. - Video games? Well, I've had several in my life, but one I really liked, it's called The Cave. - The Cave, I don't know it. - The Cave, it's not very well known. - It was on PS3 that I was playing. - I'll have to take a look. - You want to see my sketch? - Go ahead, I'd love to. - You're good! - Oh yeah? - You took classes or it's just... - No. - It's as you go. - I wanted to take some this summer but I had too much to do. Actually, this summer there are fewer... When I was training in San Antonio, I had less media stuff and so on. So I had more time, so I did a lot of things totally out of basketball, and it's was part of it, but I didn't have the time. - And it's true, we feel that you have lots of different passions. Do you ever think to your life after basketball? - Yeah, of course. Earlier, you asked me if I achieved all my dreams, and I told you no. There are others in basketball, but there are plenty of others. - Can you tell us one? - Frankly, it's personal stuff. I also don't like to talk too much of my very distant dreams, because I have the impression it's like spoiler-free. - You understand? - Yes. - And even when I was a young basketball player here, in this gym. Let's imagine back when I knew I already wanted to play in the NBA, to be the best player in the world, I would never have said it. - Were you afraid that it breaks something or people... - No, because it would have been misunderstood, in fact. It would have been considered at worst as arrogance and at best naivety, - Yes, like, I'll do that later. - So, in fact, it's a message that would have interpreted in the wrong way. At worst, arrogance and at best, naivety. - No, but it's beautiful, and again, it shows that there are things beyond your daily life and your job, even if it is extraordinary. - Even if the next 15-20 years will be dedicated to this part of my life which is 100% basketball. - It's true that when I saw you playing in San Antonio the other day, I was thinking, I'm 27 years old now, I'm watching you play, if there's a world where, when I'm 45, you're still playing, is that something you visualize, it's not 5 years, it's not 6 years, it's potentially 15, 20 years. - Yes, that's the good part, because you tell yourself that you have the chance to fill the track record, to do things. - Shall we spin the wheel? - Come on, let's go. VI - You might be running out of ideas right now. - Right hand, left hand. I'm out of inspiration. - It's a phone. - A phone call. - Behind that, you'll see, there's a phone a little bit more modern than the one we have here. In this case, there are questions. There are a lot of questions from people. Here's what I suggest is that you click, it's a vocal, so basically, you click on the vocal and then you can listen to it. - I'll let you press. - I wonder who it is. - That's not a personality, but it's an interesting question. - Hello Victor, quick question. You prefer to score 45 points and lose the game - or score only 5 points and win it? - The other. Score only 5 points and win, clearly. - Obvious, but it's true that, we felt it this year... Well, we sensed it in your statements, that even you were the face of your club, and that's normal, and you're going to be over the next few years, you give a big place to team work. - Of course. The best player, he's the one who makes his team better. - Beautiful. - Hello, Victor. For the Olympics, with the French team, you risk facing Team USA. Sounds a bit like the Avengers with Stephen Curry, Lebron James, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum. Would it be possible to win it, in your opinion? - Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be there. So yes, the answer is as simple as that. And for me, when I think of the Olympics and the difficulties that lie ahead, I'm not thinking about Team USA at all, I'm thinking of everyone. And I know it doesn't matter who we're playing against... - Canada is super good, Germany, of course. - And even the... What is it called, the imaginary country? - The imaginary country? - Next to Spain, the Twitter thing. - I don't have the reference. - Am I crazy ? The country created by the... No, what? No, not Liechtenstein, but the Listenbourg. - Oh, yes! - Even Listenbourg, they can... I'm a freak, even Listenbourg, they can win against Team USA, - if it's the Olympics, then... - Anything can happen. - Anything can happen and really the fervor with which teams battle it out in international competitions, it is not comparable. - If you want to hear another one. - OK. - Hi, Victor. Like all French basketball fans, I don't sleep, since in France, NBA games are in the middle of the night. What was your technique, when you were a teenager to watch it? - True topic. - I didn't have the pay channels, unfortunately. So I was watching YouTube in the morning or on not-so-legal sites. But it's worth staying awake sometimes. It's up to you what's your lifestyle, I don't know if you're in school. - On weekends it's okay, when you play between Friday and Saturday, you have time to catch up, but during the week, it's complicated. - Sundays at 7 pm, sometimes in France, too. - There are a few times, we were lucky. But it's true that a rhythm to keep up with. - We can spin the wheel again. - Let's go, one last time. VII What is it ? The emoji? - Basketball? - Let's talk about basketball. No, but more seriously, behind that, you'll see, there is a graph I wanted to show you. - Wow, are those my shots? - Yeah. It's all the shots you score this year. Just, so it's clear to everyone, as soon as there's a small circle, it's a shot you scored. You can see it; you shoot, not everywhere, but almost everywhere. What do you feel, you have brought over the last year, or what you want to bring, in terms of presence ? - If you look at the NBA Shooting Chart, of the whole League, for 20 years, it's been... It used to be a bit like this and more and more, it's all about the hoop and the 3-point line because that's the most efficient way to score. - It's more profitable to put 3 points than 2 points a meter closer. - That's it. And so, yes, there is improvement, but I had seen this charter about a third of the year, I think, and I started shooting a lot fewer unprofitable shoots - to focus on the best. - And I was reading an article in The Athletic, which necessarily has covered your season, and who explained that what you brought to the game, it's not just your size, it's your size and the way you exploit in your game. It had even brought the analysts, who inevitably follow these games to question certain principles they had, with basically, before, a shot was considered open, so a defenseless shot, if there was this or that distance, between attacker and defender. It's all been a bit of a whirlwind since you've been in the NBA, because now, we feel that shots that were, in theory, OK, now, you can block them. In the same way, here, we see that you are able to play everywhere. That was important, too, for you, not to fit into a box, test different things and to be able to be anywhere. - It's important to make mistakes, to test, to see what we're comfortable with, what we're not. And so yeah, it was a year in which I learned a lot, I've learned more this year than at any other time in my life. - Inevitably there're a few lessons. I'm not going to lie to you, I do more and more basketball with buddies, but I have something a bit weird, as soon as I shoot, I feel like people who defend on me let me shoot. - Which I take badly, but I understand. - And you should take it badly. - And I should take it badly, because when I'm at the 3-point line, they let me do it, without any problem. Go ahead, shoot, I'll take the ball afterwards. I'm down if you're interested, to bring this exchange to a close, - is that you coach me a bit. - With pleasure. - And tell me how to refine and make a good NBA shot. - Yeah, I love it. - Like at the highest level. - Is it ok ? - Yeah, let's go. - So cool. - I take my jacket off. - Go ahead, if you want. - So, today, you're what we call a Cold Guy. - Yes, exactly. - A guy we let shoot, - and what you want is to be a Hot Guy. - Exactly. - First, show me what it looks like. So you're left-handed. - I'm left-handed, yeah. - So what’s good, is that your left foot is forward. - Does it have to stay forward like that? - Yeah, but put your left foot down really directly to the hoop. And the right foot, a little further forward. - Like that? OK. - There you go. - Anyway, you have to be comfortable. - OK. - Now, the shoot key, - is the legs. - OK. Which is not at all automatic when you think about it. - All the power of the ball, it comes from the legs. Arms are only for steering. - OK, when you say legs, what is it? I have to play on the... - I'll show you if you want. - Go ahead. - When I shoot. - OK. - That's it. - A kind of small flexion, - you don't have to jump at first. Here you see, for example, you've forgotten everything. - On the legs? - Yes, for example. - Ok, wait. - The movement has be fluid. It has to be one movement, you see, at first you flinch, - and a fluid movement like this. - OK. That's it, and here, I should score if all goes well. - I have no doubt. - OK. - It's better right? - Already, it's working. - It's already a little better, - I'll make one last one. - Now you're a Shoot Guy, not a Cold Guy. - Whereas gestures, it may not be perfect. - Are the legs good like that? - Yes, it's fine. You have to be comfortable. - And you, when I see you play... - You're in jeans, that's why. - Yes, otherwise, I would score them all. - Yeah, no doubt. - And you, when you shoot, I do see you... We often see you like this. We see you trying to relax your shoulders. - At the free throw, yes. - Yeah, free throw, you always have the same gesture. - After, the free throw, it's special because, you just did 5 round trips, you countered a guy, We made a fault on you, your shoulder hurts. - We need to recanalize. - See, you reset and then back to basics. Everything you know, bend, me, my hand, I had a flaw, she was much more like that and so less stability. Hand here, fingers facing the hoop, wrist armed. - And he scores. I don't have any advice strangely. You scored it. You're very good. I'll tell you if people ever block me a little more or try to block me a little bit more. - Thank you Victor, that was so cool. - You're welcome. - That makes me so happy; it was fun. - Likewise. - If you want to sign maybe a jersey, - Yes, with pleasure. - of the French team. - Do I hold it like that? - I have experience, you have to stretch. - I had the same problem with Didier Deschamps, I didn't know how to hold it. Am I holding here? - There you go. - Very good, thank you very much. - Sorry, I saw a ball, I had to... - What? - I saw the balloon, I had to... - You have to; it's here. - The drawing! Oh no! - I feel bad! - The drawing! Really, it's fine; it has water on, but... - It is still here. - You have to see from my point of view. - Yes, really you're good. - Thank you. - You're very, very good. - Untapped potential for now because I didn't take any classes. - But the truth is if you manage to take extra classes. A coach, a guy who comes to see you, maybe give it a try. - Thank you very much, bye. - Bye. - Good luck, ciao. - Let's go. Thanks, that was cool.