All Star Game: MVP and Win, Wembanyama Dream Night

They all came for him. See how Victor Wembanyam’s star shines during the star game. The French Basketball All-Star Game took place this Thursday night at the packed Accor Arena in Paris, which sold out for the 19th year in a row, and fans were fascinated by the interior of the Mets de Boulogne-Levallois. Even his partners were eager to develop along with what LeBron James calls “alien”. “We will serve him, we will do everything to make him shine even more,” said Stéphane Gombo, the interior of Nancy, the day before the match. And they saw! Unique gestures, shovel dunks and French victory (136-128).

But as Wemby, number 1, gathered on the jersey like a counter of applause, was in no hurry to keep the top of the count. The evening didn’t start in the best way. In his eagerness to compete in three-point shooting competitions—”Welcome to modern basketball, where the greats can shoot,” said the evening’s speaker—the demiurge of French basketball has lost its magic. Facing three real triggers and exercise experts, he placed 4th in the challenge with 12 points. “Enjoyable experience, super heavy exercise, great challenge, I would like to try it again,” he later said. The competition was eventually won by Nicolas Lang, a sniper from Limoges.

After this bitter appetizer, Wembanyama was eager to show what a likely future No. 1 could do in the next NBA draft. While the Frenchman’s choice was tormented by a team from “the rest of the world,” he woke up 15,833 Accor Arena spectators with a move he keeps secret. After a series of dribbles between the legs between three opponents at the 3-point line, he dunked in a split second. The action turned the room into a volcano. Faced with a diabolical foreign legion with 3 points, he was one of the few Frenchmen, along with Parisian Juan Begarin, who showed passion. But by the break, the Blues were on the brink (26-43, 9th; 64-75, 20th).

2023 and the NBA in sight

The break and the dunking contest he entered at the request of Yves Pons – the Asvel player, the eventual winner, received the ball over Wemby’s head and then delivered a thunderous blow – cheered up the blue team, catching up with their rivals. delay. With a dunk, Wemby even allowed the French back to a tie before giving them free throw advantage (87-86, 26th). Finally, Star Wars has begun. Shaw also likes this pass to the back of his Mets teammate Hugo Besson, the author of the award-winning shot. Ten minutes after the signal, the French led the dance (106-99, 30th). Nothing could stand in the way of their victory after two failures in the last two editions. One last rebound, then a pass to Johan Begarin, another great architect of the French victory (25 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals), and Wembanyama could come out to a standing ovation (136-128).

He finished the game with 27 points (but 12-of-25 poor shooting, including 1 of 9 3-pointers), 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 assists, 2 blocks. And the MVP title, which made him smile even if he shared it with Begarin. “I hope that my future titles will eclipse this performance, but overall it was a pleasant experience, this is what I will remember from the evening, and not this MVP trophy, which I really do not understand,” the person concerned admits. Yohan has a higher rating (adding different statistical match categories) than me, I can guess why he didn’t become an MVP, but I’m sure he deserved it. »

Thus, 2022 ends with a trophy and victory for Wembanyama. He will be able to enjoy a long-awaited break — “I was looking forward to this break at the end of the year to see my family and think about something other than basketball” — and deservedly before living through what promises to be a wonderful year in 2023. With the NBA in sight.