Victor Wembanyama trains at monasteries and plays chess to master his game

Victor Wembanyama is currently the NBA's reigning Defensive Player of the Year and the central figure of the San Antonio Spurs. At 22 years old, the 7-foot-4 center is positioned as the league's new face, a role he occupies as veteran stars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry age. While he is famous for his height and length, Wembanyama claims his greatest strength lies in his mental approach to the game.

In a recent interview with CBS News, Wembanyama described his routine as one focused on finding his own answers without a blueprint. He noted that being a foreigner from France in a small market like San Antonio requires comfort with uncertainty. "I am comfortable walking through the fog," he said, referring to the process of figuring out how to train and pace himself in a career no one has previously attempted.

His physical preparation is unusual for a player his size. Wembanyama is an advocate for barefoot training, believing that strong feet support the knees, hips, and back. He often goes to practice without shoes and wears minimalistic footwear when not playing. He explained that standard shoes do not respect the natural shape of the foot, which he considers the foundation of his mobility.

This attention to physical mechanics extends to his mental habits. During the summer of 2025, Wembanyama traveled to China to live with Buddhist monks. He learned kung fu and practiced meditation in total silence. He admitted the experience was difficult, managing only 30 minutes of meditation at a time when the monks required hour-long sessions. He now uses brief moments of meditation between free throws to center his thoughts.

Wembanyama credited coach Gregg Popovich for teaching him humility, a lesson he applies after both wins and losses. Popovich, who retired in 2025 after leading the Spurs to five championships, told him that players rarely perform as well or as poorly as they believe. Wembanyama applied this mindset during the previous season, when the Spurs won the Western Conference but lost to the New York Knicks in five games. He acknowledged that he was not at his best during that series.

The center also finds common ground between basketball and chess, citing the overlap in decision-making processes. He hosts an annual tournament in Nanterre, a district outside Paris where he was first scouted. There, he plays one-on-one games and interacts with the local community. He also hosted his Spurs teammates in France, taking them to the Seine to show them a side of his culture he values.

Wembanyama acknowledged that he does not live a typical life in the United States due to the demands of being a professional athlete. However, he described the country as the best place to be an athlete. He cited his free throw percentage of 82% as evidence that his routine works, a statistic that far exceeds the historical average for NBA centers.