“He’s a valuable player that everyone would like to have.” These words from Victor Wembanyama to Nicolas Batum took on their full meaning last night in San Antonio during the Sixers’ victory at the Spurs in double overtime (133-126). The captain of the French team drew a crucial long-distance arrow in the success of Nick Nurse’s men. An “old hand” performance, in his own words, which is sure to delight in Pennsylvania.
In a two-part interview – in Los Angeles then in San Antonio – which he gave to Eurosport, Nicolas Batum spoke at length about the French team and the Paris 2024 Olympics, about the Victor Wembanyama case, while discussing his season with the Philadelphia Sixers.
What is your opinion of Victor Wembanyama?
Niolas Batum: I’ve known the kid for a long time. Everyone who knows him is not shocked by what he does. The only thing is that I didn’t think he would do so much in his rookie year and that he would reach this level in year 2. As Gregg Popovich said in the press conference, and I am agree with him, what he’s doing right now could be his worst season and that’s what’s scariest. This may be the worst version of Wemby we’ll see in the next fifteen years. It is developing at a monumental pace but it is only the beginning. I don’t think it will be easy to win against him in the future.
What impresses you most about him?
N.B. : [Il place l’un de ses doigts sur sa tête] He knows who he is, he knows what he can become, and he knows how to do it. He is in an ideal position to make this happen. Structure, entourage, everything is put in place for him to be a very great player. Everything is ready for him to become what we imagine him to become… Now it’s up to him.
You defended him for a long time this Sunday evening (Sixers victory in double overtime at the Spurs, 133-126), getting into him and hitting him a few times… Was that the key to the match?
NB: It was especially the only chance I had if I wanted to try to make him work (laughs). When you play this kind of phenomenon who is 20 years old when you are 35, when you play a back-to-back, when you already have 40 minutes in your legs, you have no choice. In the end, I told my team: “Leave it to me, I’ll try to manage it.” On the first action, I put him on the ground on purpose. It was nothing personal, we had to win the match.
What type of player can he become in 5 and 10 years?
NB: It can be at the very top of the pyramid. He can become difficult to stop and have a rather unique impact on the game.
Joel Embiid, reigning MVP, made his return to the court, a little earlier than expected, after an injury to his left knee… How is that going?
NB: Everything is speeding up! We have to continue to work but we also have to help him find his rhythm. He’s good, he’s finding his legs again. We try to continue playing around, learning, there are new guys too who have never played with him so we are in a bit of an accelerated learning process. We try to progress, to be serious, it’s important for the future.
Joel Embiid
Credit: Getty Images
You are in your 16th NBA season. How do you manage to last?
NB: I am much less in demand in attack. I know what I have to do and these are not direct actions (towards the basket). But I run a lot. It’s a mental and physical overload that I have less of compared to previous years. I’m just trying to play. Apart from yesterday (Saturday, in Memphis), it’s been six or seven matches in a row that I’ve played around thirty minutes. I stay on the field because I bring something other than points. I think it works and is appreciated. The chatter aside, I don’t really care. There was hesitation this evening not to make me play. I told them they didn’t need me to win and they told me the opposite. It’s what my coaches and teammates think that matters most.
I know where I am in my career, I know the impact I have on the field. I know who I am and I know my abilities to impact a team with my repertoire. I’ve been in the NBA for sixteen years: I still have a certain role in a competitive team, I’m not at the end of the bench.
Since your transfer from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Philadelphia Sixers at the very start of the season, how is your new life going?
NB: It was very simple because I already knew the reigning MVP with whom I had a relationship before. I knew Nick Nurse liked me because when I was cut from Charlotte (in 2019-20) there were talks about going to Toronto. When you’re with good players and in a good organization, it’s easy to integrate. I need good players around me to shine. If I have a team that is shaky, I won’t be good. But otherwise, I can link a collective and it works this year.
What honestly matters is not who we are going to play with the French team but the way we are going to approach the competition
Has this transfer changed anything in your future perspective?
NB: I’m a pro, I’ve been here a long time so it doesn’t change much (he said last October that this season could be his last, editor’s note). You stay professional, you do your job and we’ll see that later. But four years ago, when I was cut off by Charlotte, I had already thought about ending my career. Tyronn Lue and his staff gave me one last chance.
Let’s talk about the Blues. The draw for the Olympic Games was recently made and you are in the same group as Germany (world champion), Japan and the winner of the Riga TQO. What do you think ?
NB: The draw has no importance. What honestly matters is not who we are going to play but how we are going to approach the competition. It’s such a condensed event that ultimately we don’t care who we play. We have to concentrate on ourselves and arrive as well prepared as possible so that we are ready for the first match, on July 27 in Lille.
Wembanyama: “We discover things that we were not capable of executing”
We have to learn from last year (the Blues were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup) but each time there was a disaster in the selection, we knew how to react. We have been announced by everyone as favorite so we really have to refocus on us.
Be careful not to fall into the excitement of the home Games
Are the Olympic Games in Paris the most important milestone of your career?
NB: Yes, of course! The Olympic Games are the biggest competition you can play as a national team athlete, without calling into question the value of a World Cup or a European Championship. Because it’s a home event, we’ll have to be careful not to fall into the excitement of the home Games, it could lose us. That’s why I really emphasize it. There will be a little extra but it shouldn’t distract you from the main subject because at the end, there is still a competition to be played.
This competition can also be used to prepare for the future, notably with Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly…
NB: (He cuts) This is what we have to do. This is also why preparation is important because we will have to start giving stability very quickly to certain players who deserve it and who have the means to succeed. And there are guys like me, who can support them and make sure that everything goes well and that we have the best competition possible.
Precisely, what is your opinion on the season of Bilal Coulibaly, the Frenchman of the Wizards, drafted in 7th place last June by the Indiana Pacers then transferred to Washington. Despite his premature end to the season due to a broken right wrist, it is encouraging…
NB: Very encouraging! He had a very good debut. He has shown what he can do on both ends of the floor but this is only the beginning. Defensively, he has real potential. He has the potential of a Mikal Bridges or even a little more, he can evolve in the same register.
2024-04-08 21:22:33
#NBA #Victor #Wembanyama #French #team #Paris #2024.. #Interview #Nicolas #Batum