PARIS — Victor Wembanyama’s week at home is over, a week of enormous celebration and adoration for France’s burgeoning superstar.
Wemby, 21, the reigning NBA rookie of the year who grew up just a few miles outside of Paris, was overcome with emotion after his San Antonio Spurs lost to the Indiana Pacers, 136-98, on Saturday – but not because of the defeat.
It was the gratitude he felt to his countrymen and to the league for holding two games here, and for the response it generated by Parisians.
“I just want to underline that this week was amazing,” Wembanyama said, fighting back tears and explaining he was trying not to get emotional. It didn’t work.
“Everybody did their job to make this week incredible,” he said. “All of this contributes to making our sport better and making me happy.”
Star power in France is on display everywhere from billboards and banners along the Champs-Élysées to parties he throws with Louis Vuitton to … the national anthem?
There are details to go over from what happened on the court Saturday, especially when Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton put the game away, but a strong example of what was getting to Wemby took place before the game, during the French national anthem. To understand what happened, you must go back to the first meeting between the two teams in Paris, a game won by the Spurs on Thursday night.
Before Thursday’s game, Wembanyama’s first NBA matchup in his hometown, Parisian singer Sandra Brown belted out a stirring rendition of “La Marseillaise,” and the sold-out crowd of about 15,000 fans seemed to mostly sing along with her. When Wemby was asked about the moment, he said, “You just need the music and everyone will tag along. Maybe next game everyone will.”
Which is basically what happened Saturday.
After Nicole Slack Jones hit unimaginable notes during her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” Brown addressed the crowd in French, as though she was offering instructions. She sang the first line or two, lifted the microphone toward the fans and they took over the song, though Brown did weave in and out with her own vocals.
“That’s just one more thing where the people all around, whether it’s the NBA, the organization, they tried to make us feel like the best way possible,” Wembanyama said, again fighting tears. “I appreciate the effort, but it’s still a regret on my side … the singers are crazy talented with beautiful voices, but I still (regret) we didn’t get to sing the national anthem (with just music) like we do for the national team.”
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Wembymania: What Paris feels like when Victor Wembanyama is in town
Wemby’s will this week was done. Until the second game started.
The Pacers avenged their 30-point loss Thursday by walloping San Antonio with a much better effort and attention to detail. Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 points in the third quarter, including 16 straight, to finish with 28 points. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter because he wasn’t needed.
Wembanyama’s second Paris NBA game wasn’t quite as stellar as the first. He followed up Thursday’s 30-point, 11-rebound, five-block effort with 20 points, 12 rebounds and just one block on 7-of-16 shooting Saturday. He took just three shots after halftime.
What a tough bucket from Wemby…
Scores through traffic to give the Spurs their first lead of the game!
🇫🇷 All-Access Paris on ESPN 🇫🇷#NBAParis Games presented by @TISSOT pic.twitter.com/MuNI5n5Eex
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2025
Wemby’s lone field goal of the second half — a 7-footer with 4:56 left — put the finishing touches on the Spurs’ comeback from a 15-point halftime deficit. It also activated Haliburton.
The Pacers’ star, a member of the Team USA group that beat Wemby and Team France in the Olympic gold medal game in the same arena, ignited for four 3s after the Spurs pulled ahead and ran off 16 consecutive points for Indiana.
“When great players go on runs, you don’t want to be defeatist and just throw up your hands,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “He made some incredible shots, he’s an incredible player.”
Haliburton has been candid about his experience at the Paris Olympics, appreciating being a part of a historic team but acknowledging that he barely played — which is difficult to handle for a two-time All-Star on a max contract. Earlier this week he said he was looking forward to “actually playing” at Accord Arena this time, and infamously posted to social media a picture of himself after the U.S. beat France with a gold medal around his neck with the caption: “When you ain’t do nun on the group project and still get an A.”
“I participated,” Haliburton deadpanned Saturday, after his big game against the Spurs. “It felt like rare air for sure. It was a good feeling.”
Tyrese Haliburton STOLE THE SHOW in Paris!
🔥 28 PTS
🔥 18 in 3Q (16 straight)
🔥 6 3PM, 4 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK
🔥 11-17 FGM (64.7 FG%)@Pacers are 9-2 in their last 11. pic.twitter.com/Hl26nJdoxD
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2025
While Haliburton was catching fire, his friend and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark posted to social media, “Ty’s on one right now.” She wasn’t wrong.
“They’re going to talk about Victor after these two games, but they’re going to remember that run here in Paris that really shifted the momentum in our favor,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers had 10 shots blocked Thursday and were destroyed on the boards. The Spurs blocked them just five times Saturday and the Pacers outrebounded them 50-44. Indiana’s defense was much better, too, limiting the Spurs to 41.2 percent shooting after coughing up 140 points two days ago.
Pascal Siakam added 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who saw all five starters and two reserves reach double-digit points. The Spurs were led in scoring not by Wembanyama, but by Harrison Barnes’ 25 points.
San Antonio’s Sandro Mamukelashvili was ejected with 1:35 remaining for pushing Thomas Bryant in the back while Bryant glided through the air toward the rim. A replay review led the officials to determine Mamukelashvili’s play warranted a flagrant-2 call, which is an automatic ejection. Lead referee Zach Zarba called it a “non-basketball play.”
This marked the first time the NBA held a Global Games series during the regular season in which the two participating teams played two games instead of one.
Because the Spurs are a Western Conference team and the Pacers are in the East, they only play each other twice a season. Both of those games took place, obviously, in Paris this season; the Spurs served as the “home” team Saturday while the Pacers served the role for the first game.
Though no announcement has been made on the NBA’s plans for playing regular-season games in Europe next season, league sources indicate those games might not be held in Paris (the NBA has played for each of the last four years in which a game was held in France). It’s hard to fathom, given the success of the week, that the Spurs and their main man won’t be coming back here next season, but the French have no trouble following Wemby on social media and staying up late to watch his games.
“I’m sure at some point he’ll look back on this and realize what a treat it was,” said Spurs guard Chris Paul, who scored 11 points with eight assists. “We wish we could have won both games for him, but you guys are going to be lucky for a long time to be able to follow Vic. So you guys make sure you not only take care of him, but treasure him.”
Required reading
(Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)