SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The first dinner that Victor Wembanyama had in his new home city was filled with San Antonio royalty. Gregg Popovich was there, of course. So were Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili and Sean Elliott.
NBA champions, all of them.
Wembanyama now starts his quest to join their club.
The process of getting him ready for his first NBA season will start quickly, with summer league practices starting in the next few days and his first game in a Spurs uniform, albeit just the summer kind, coming in early July at either Sacramento or Las Vegas.
“These are exciting times," Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said.
The welcomes for Wemby continued Saturday, first with a party on the Riverwalk — not coincidentally, in the spot where the Spurs' championship celebrations are centered — followed by a visit to his new home arena.
It was part of a whirlwind first 20 hours or so in San Antonio for Wembanyama, who flew in from the NBA draft on Friday and had dinner with Popovich and some former players that night.
“Honestly, that was one of the best dinners of my life,” Wembanyama said. “And not because of the food. The food was good. But the people was crazy.”
Saturday started with a bag of the city's famed breakfast tacos — bacon and egg, and bean and cheese, he said — before heading to the Arneson River Theater for the day's first introductory event. Robinson was there, sitting in the front row. So was San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, wearing a Wembanyama jersey.
It was hectic. It's going to be hectic for a while. And Wembanyama says he's enjoying it all.
“This is the life I wanted,” Wembanyama said. “This is what I worked for and it’s what I’ve been wanting for a long time. So, it feels normal to me.”
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