Man Of The People: Victor Wembanyama Hit Up Washington Square Park To Hang Out And Play Chess With Random Fans

Luke Hales. Getty Images.

Over the holidays, Wemby and the Spurs found themselves in the Big Apple for a little two game set against both the Knicks and Nets. Against NYK on Christmas Day, it was another day that ended in "y" with Wemby doing what Wemby does best which is pull off some shit on an NBA court we've pretty much never seen before

As I've blogged recently, the man is just on an absolute tear right now. The wins may not always be following, but those will come in time. 

For an encore to his Christmas Day extravaganza, it was time to take on the tanking Nets. This time around Wemby was a little more subdued in the win, with a casual 19/7 with 6 blocks and 3 3PM. Totally normal stuff.

I think it's fair to say that things seem to be going pretty well for Wemby at the moment. He's pretty much locked up the DPOY barring something crazy, and it wouldn't shock me one bit if he gets some 1st or 2nd Team All NBA votes if he maintains this level of play. That's how good he's been to start the year.

But what makes Wemby awesome is that he's also a man of the people. After a nice bounce back win and some time to kill in NYC, Wemby decided to take to the streets

Advertisement

It seems crazy when you're as famous as Wemby that you'd want to just throw your location out there like that, but it's not like the second he goes anywhere there wouldn't be 1,000 pictures and tweets about it so what's the difference? May as well throw it out there and see if anyone wants to get down on some chess battles. Not as some sort of publicity stunt or for a marketing campaign, just a dude with some free time in the city who's looking to scratch his intellectual itch.

Advertisement

Personally, I have no idea how to play chess. I used to know a little bit when I was younger, but my brain has deteriorated like you read about ever since so I've pretty much forgotten everything I once knew. Seems fun if you're good at it and chess does come with its own type of drama to keep things exciting

but the craziest part of this Wemby story to me is the fact that it's not like the Spurs have some huge break in their schedule. They play @ MIN tomorrow night. That means at some point today the Spurs are leaving NYC to head up to the Twin Cities, which makes me love this move even more. I'm not sure what I thought NBA players did on their travel days, but it makes sense that there's probably a lot of hanging out before the flight. I just figured they would have left last night after their win in BKN, land late night, and then have today to adjust and prepare for tomorrow's game. 

So the fact that Wemby decided to go hang out with fans and play chess in the park a few hours before his team flight makes me sneaky respect the move even more. 

This is just another reminder that whoever your favorite team is, they better win their titles quickly, because Wemby is coming. We're seeing what the evolution of his game means on the court, it's terrifying. Well, he's also well on his way to becoming the next great NBA superstar and international sensation. The kicker is he also appears to be a chill dude who just happens to be a basketball alien. Don't let the Spurs start to surround him with serious talent as teammates, because at that point the only thing left is world domination.