{"id":894805,"date":"2026-06-26T19:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/894805\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T19:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T19:33:20","slug":"obama-praises-wemby-on-podcast-predicts-big-things-for-san-antonio-spurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/894805\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama praises Wemby on podcast, predicts big things for San Antonio Spurs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Barack Obama speaking at the Presidential Health Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2007. Credit: Wikimedia Commons \/ Center for American Progress Action Fund from Washington, DC<\/p>\n

Former President Barack Obama spoke on basketball podcast All the Smoke this week, and once again sang the praises of Spurs star forward Victor Wembanyama.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Wemby will be as good as we are projecting,\u201d Obama said on the podcast\u2019s most recent episode, which dropped Wednesday morning. \u201cI watched him at the All-Star game and I was sitting there, real quick, first time I\u2019ve seen him live, and I don\u2019t remember somebody that big moving like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama also offered up advice for the young superstar.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gotta figure out what his go-to move is, he\u2019s gotta put on some weight, and he\u2019s gotta work on his conditioning because you could tell he got tired,\u201d the former president said. <\/p>\n

Obama added that he believed Wemby got tired \u201c[p]artly because it just looks to me like playing defense today is so much harder because you have to close out everything. So it used to be, you\u2019re Wemby, you just plant yourself in the paint. You\u2019re a rim protector. But I\u2019m watching him on defense now, the way they\u2019re using him, he\u2019s like in the paint, and then he\u2019s trying to close out a three-pointer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama also offered some light criticism for point guard De\u2019Aaron Fox, whom many fans blamed for enabling the Knicks to score winning points instead of holding on to the ball in the final seconds of Game 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think De\u2019Aaron Fox is a great player, but he\u2019s not like a natural point guard,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd they probably would have benefited from just a [traditional point guard] like CP3 [Chris Paul], Steve Nash or like Mo Cheeks going back to the old days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama expressed belief that the Spurs\u2019 rookie player will one day take on that role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean at some point I think [Dylan] Harper is going to be that guy but he\u2019s 20,\u201d Obama told the hosts. \u201cSometimes I look at these guys and I have to remind myself Sasha, my younger daughter, just turned 25, so these kids are five years younger than my baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the former president expressed hope at a promising legacy for the young team.<\/p>\n

\u201c[T]hat team is going to have such a great future,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

All the Smoke is hosted by NBA champion Matt Barnes \u2014 a former Memphis Grizzly and Golden State Warrior \u2014 and Stephen Jackson, who himself served two separate stints as a San Antonio Spur.<\/p>\n

Once rivals on the court, Barnes and Jackson now have a successful podcast and social media following, with two million followers combined across YouTube and Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The podcast is known for landing major guests, including Kamala Harris and Kobe Bryant, whose appearance was his final interview before his death.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time Obama has praised Wemby and predicted big things in the Spurs\u2019 future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to take your eyes off Wembanyama when he\u2019s on the court,\u201d Obama said on a podcast<\/a> called The Young Man and the Three in 2024, making comparisons to Magic Johnson, Kevin Durant and Larry Bird.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe makes the rest of y\u2019all look tiny,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tThe former president had glowing things to say about Wembanyama and other star Spurs players \u2014\u00a0as well as some constructive criticism.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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