Victor Wembanyama made it clear Saturday that pride will be a factor when Team World takes the floor in the 2026 NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The San Antonio Spurs star, who will start alongside Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, believes the new USA vs. World format can elevate the intensity.
“I think it definitely has a chance to and reason is simple in my opinion we’ve seen that many of the best players have been increasingly you know foreign players so there is some pride on that side,” he said. “And I guess there is some pride also on the American side which is normal so I think anything that gets closer to you know representing your country brings up the pride again.”
Wembanyama has previously called for more competitive energy in the exhibition and outlined how he plans to influence it.
“I think exclamation point playing in a solid manner and sharing the ball with energy. If you share that energy, people feel like they have a responsibility to share it back to you,” he said. “So, I’m confident in the way it’s going to go.”
When asked what skill he would teach in a master class, the 7-foot-4 big man did not hesitate.
“It would be shot blocking,” he said. “I think regardless of height, I think many players can get better at it at any level.”
The Spurs cornerstone also addressed LeBron James’ long-standing role as the face of the NBA.
“I actually think LeBron has some, you know, he’s very intelligent in like those areas,” Wembanyama said. “I mean in two decades having very few mistakes like very few PR mistakes.”
He added: “I don’t know how many millions of basketball players on earth and all of them can learn something from LeBron.”
On whether he would get emotional when James retires, Wembanyama answered plainly.
“No, you asked me to be honest. I’m not going to shed a tear, but it is going to be very weird for sure.”
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick also reflected on his own pursuit of excellence.
“I’m definitely chasing my own greatness,” he said. “I think the first step to in my opinion the first step to greatness every time is what you can do in the moment.”
Wembanyama emphasized daily focus.
“You don’t have to think about what where you’re going to be in 20 years, but you have to think about being the best in the next moment, the next game, the next 24 hours.”
He also discussed the challenge of executing a coaching system across an 82-game season.
“The difficulty is doing it three to four times a week you know while in pain while fatigued while people actively trying to prevent you from doing it,” he said. “I think that being um sorry answering present every night to the scouting report and especially to the tactical aspect is one of the most difficult.”
