Victor Wembanyama se eleva después de regresar de la cirugía para coágulos de sangre.
For all he had already accomplished in life, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama realized he truly had not done much.
Lying in a hospital bed awaiting surgery that could potentially save his life, much less an NBA career, Wembanyama waited for relief from a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
It led the 21-year-old from France to take a two-week excursion to China to train his mind and body this summer. It spurred him to visit the NASA Space Center and broaden his imagination and his understanding of space exploration.
“I mean, life isn’t forever and there are some experiences we’re going to miss on, it is inevitable, but I’m going to miss on the least that I can,” Wembanyama said Monday. “I want to experience the most and this is something that I wanted to do and just because I’m in the NBA, I’m not going to keep myself from doing it. I want to experience those things.”
The health scare has led to a healthier, happier and even taller Wembanyama.
After being listed as 7-foot-3 in his first two seasons, Wembanyama is officially 7-4 and 240 pounds after another summer spent bulking up.
Wembanyama’s health, along with the return of De’Aaron Fox and the additions of Luke Kornet and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper, have fueled hopes the Spurs will end a six-year playoff drought.
“You see how hard he works and how motivated he is,” Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan said. “I think he’s super excited to see, and I think he’s ready. I think you guys are going to see a lot that’s going to shock you, and I think everyone’s excited and can’t wait to see him on the actual NBA court.”
Coming off winning Rookie of the Year in 2024, Wembanyama was literally towering over the world in the opening months of his second season in the NBA. In January, he played in Paris as an NBA player for the first time, debuted in the All-Star Game in February, was on course to win Defensive Player of the Year for a time and his popularity was growing faster than he did as a youth.
All of it halted when Wembanyama was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder shortly after the All-Star break, ending his season on Feb. 20.
“So, I don’t know where you heard it is thoracic on the thrombosis, but it was definitely a DVT,” Wembanyama said, clarifying speculation.
More concerning than not playing basketball, the blood clot in his right shoulder potentially could have traveled to his lungs and led to a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.
That led to Wembanyama to many doctor appointments and an urgent surgery.
“It is life-changing,” Wembanyama said. “I mean, spending so much time in hospitals and around doctors and hearing more bad news than I wish I heard. Of course, as you said, it is traumatic, but in the long run I think it’s going to be very beneficial, because even though I don’t wish it on [anybody]Te hace comprender lecciones que no tienen nada que entender. “
Si Wembanyama tiene una vida ilimitada antes de que su salud se sorprenda. Desde que participó en la liga de 18 años, Wembanyama se fue a la cama a las 21.00 horas. Lectura de novelas científicas y novelas de fantasía y creando modelos LEGO.
Pero Wembanyama necesita más de su vida.
“Es una madriguera única que puedes buscar para las personas tanto como él”, dijo el entrenador. Spa Johnson dijo. “Tiene una gran intención de la variedad de formas en que está tratando de mejorar como jugador y una persona. Es algo que nunca he visto o experimentado en mi tiempo. Es bastante curioso.
Por lo tanto, Wembanyama sigue el deseo de explorar el Centro Espacial de la NASA en Husston y visitar el Templo Shaolin en China y estudiar el budismo, la meditación y el entrenamiento físico con los monjes.
“Entrenar con monjes es una experiencia increíble”, dijo Wembanyama. “Dejando mi comodidad. Fue mi intención desde el principio. Pero esas pueden ser las actividades de ejercicio que he hecho, por lo que realmente pagó en términos de capacitación y experiencias de vida como una persona curiosa”.
Lleva a Wembanyama a enviar su primera “patada real” durante el entrenamiento de karate y aumentar su rango de movimiento.
“Este es mi mejor verano hasta ahora”, dijo Wembanyama. “Puedo decir que el progreso es increíble. Me siento mejor, me veo más fuerte y la escala dice que soy más duro, por lo que todo es verde”.
Informe de Associated Press
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