"I Don't Live a Normal Life in America!" Wemby on Lessons from Monks, Chess, and Going Barefoot Whenever He Can /VIDEO/
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Standing at 7-foot-4, the 22-year-old reigning Defensive Player of the Year shared insight into his unique training regimen and his long-term vision for his career.
"I think the key is to be comfortable not knowing, to be comfortable figuring things out as you go," he said, adding: "I'm comfortable not having all the answers. I'm comfortable walking through the fog."
Wembanyama reflects on Spurs' 4–1 Finals series defeat to the New York Knicks
Wembanyama says he felt like his head finally emerged from that fog last season, right around the time the Spurs caught fire on an impressive winning run.
"Last season, I think we didn't lose a single game in February. Those are the moments when everything just clicks."
The Spurs carried that momentum deep into the spring, overcoming the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. However, despite entering the NBA Finals as favorites, San Antonio fell in five games to the New York Knicks, with Wembanyama by his own admission playing far below his best.
Cast as the villain during the Finals, he insists the outside noise never fazed him.
"More than anything, it showed me my limits," he said. "When you step onto the floor, you have to play basketball. You can't just beat people down — at least not if you want to win."
"A winning franchise"
Such candid self-reflection is remarkable for a player just entering his fourth NBA campaign. Wembanyama was barely a teenager in France when scouts first took notice, eventually becoming the most anticipated prospect since LeBron James two decades earlier. By draft night in 2023, going No. 1 overall was an absolute certainty.
The draft took him from the Parisian suburbs to one of the NBA's smaller markets. For Wembanyama, however, it proved to be a match made in heaven.
"A franchise led by the greatest coach of all time, a franchise that also shares deep French roots," he said. "And yes, simply winning. A winning franchise."
Wembanyama was referring to Gregg Popovich, who stepped away from coaching in 2025 after guiding the Spurs to five NBA championships. Wembanyama credits Popovich with instilling a deep sense of humility in him.
"He would often say one thing during film sessions: 'After a win, you're rarely as good as you think you are, and after a loss, you're rarely as bad as you think you are,'" Wembanyama recalled.
The key to Wemby's longevity
After a blood clot in his shoulder cut his sophomore season short, Wembanyama doubled down on his physical preparation. Aware that big men throughout basketball history have struggled with lower-body injuries, he became obsessed with strengthening his feet.
"I'm realizing more and more that the feet dictate so much of what happens throughout the entire body," Wembanyama explained. "It's funny, I was just talking to a rookie recently. I walked into practice barefoot, and he saw me and said, 'I didn't know you could just not wear shoes.'"
Wembanyama is a staunch advocate for barefoot training and natural movement.
"I try to walk barefoot as much as I can and stick to minimalist footwear," he said.
He argues that restrictive shoes that ignore the natural shape of the foot do nothing to build essential foot strength.
"If you have solid foot strength and proper posture, everything else aligns the right way: the knees, the hips, the back, absolutely everything," Wembanyama noted.
Lessons from monks and chessboards
Wembanyama considers curiosity his defining quality. In the summer of 2025, he traveled to China to study kung fu and meditation alongside Shaolin monks.
"It was tough because they push you to your absolute breaking point," Wembanyama said.
He could lock in and meditate for about thirty minutes, "and then for the next hour and a half, I'd just be sitting there thinking, 'How much longer is this going to take?'"
Wembanyama views his routine at the free-throw line as a form of meditation. When asked what runs through his mind at the stripe, he answered: "For a second, nothing at all, and then total focus on knocking down the shot."
His curiosity also led him to develop his chess game, finding natural parallels between the board and the basketball court.
"I find that chess comes down to decision-making," he said. "And that's very similar to basketball, at least conceptually. Because there are theoretically sound moves on the court as well."
A Frenchman in Texas
Last summer, Wembanyama returned to France, where he hosts an annual tournament combining chess and basketball. During his stay, he also hosted several of his Spurs teammates.
"I wanted to treat them to that French elegance and just take good care of them, you know? That meant a lot to me," he said. "Honestly, having them come over meant more to me than it did to them."
When friends back home ask what life is like in the United States, Wembanyama challenges the premise of the question entirely.
"My answer is always, 'Well, I don't really know, because I don't live a normal life in the U.S.' I live the life of a pro athlete, a wealthy person — someone whose every need is taken care of," he said. "That's not the typical American experience. But it is the greatest country in the world to live in if you're an athlete."
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