Victor Wembanyama brought the hype to his coach’s favorite arena.
About 30 media members came to MSG on Wednesday morning to catch up with Wembanyama — several hours before the tipoff between the Spurs and Knicks — which was easily the most reporters at 4 Penn Plaza for a shootaround since pre-pandemic.
Faced with a room packed with recorders and cameras, San Antonio maestro Gregg Popovich acknowledged he feels energized by Wemby’s presence.
“But I feel more responsibility than excitement, to be honest with you,” Popovich said. “There’s always pressure. But it’s not debilitating. It puts you on the edge of your seat, keeps you thinking so you don’t fall into the category thinking you have things figured out. With him in the program now, to some degree, we have to figure it out all over again.”
To Wembanyama, a teenaged Frenchman, and other young San Antonio players, Popovich relayed the significance of the venue.
The Spurs make one appearance per year at MSG, and Wednesday morning was Wembanyama’s first time walking into the arena.
“It’s the best place to play in the world,” Popovich said. “I actually mentioned it when we came to shootaround. I walked by five guys over here, and four or five over here, and said, ‘You guys are in the best arena to play basketball you’ll ever be in.’
“Some things, words don’t describe it,” Popovich added. “You just walk in there, the lights go on, and it’s a different ballgame. You get a little bit of electricity going through your back.”
After absorbing the tales of MSG, Wembanyama arrived through the tunnel eager to carve out his own history.
Arguably the four best players of the last 40 years — LeBron James, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant — each had 50-plus point games at MSG.
“I heard from so many people that this is the best basketball gym in the world and I’m eager to find out,” Wembanyama said. “I’m definitely expecting some good team and individual performances here.
“It’s not as big as I expected,” Wembanyama added about the arena, “but still the vibe is here.”
At a legitimate 7-foot-4 with guard skills, the 19-year-old has, at least thus far, lived up to excitement.
He entered Wednesday’s game averaging 19.4 points with 2.6 blocks and 8.4 rebounds, which stacks up well against the preceding phenoms as rookies (James, for instance, averaged just 16.9 points in his first seven games).
“He’s lived up to the billing,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “There was a lot of hype, a lot of expectations, and the way he’s handled himself, the way he’s performed, credit to him. He’s been very, very impressive.”
Although it’s years too early for any conclusions about whether he’ll take over James’ throne as the NBA’s face, Wembanyama definitively prefers the nickname “Alien” over “Unicorn.”
He reasoned Wednesday that “Unicorn” — which was originally given to Kristaps Porzingis while with the Knicks — is played out.
“That nickname has been used over and over,” Wembanyama said. “So I’m not really a big fan of it. Just like LeBron said, “Everybody has been a ‘Unicorn.’ But there’s just one ‘Alien.’ ”
Wembanyama has been receiving the full American celebrity treatment.
He feuded with Britney Spears before summer league.
More recently, he chilled with Tom Brady — “I really like the vibe from him,” Wembanyama said.
He’s also bringing attention back to the Spurs coach, who surprisingly doesn’t mind the media interactions. It’s the in-game interviews he could still do without.
“I actually enjoy this,” Popovich said. “I screw with you guys and laugh, but during the game it’s part of the product. I don’t really enjoy that.”
