Victor Wembanyama was mentored as a teenager by Rudy Gobert, and the pair won a Silver Medal at the 2024 Olympics. Now, they get to go head-to-head in the NBA Playoffs.
For the first time since 2017, the San Antonio Spurs have advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Led by Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs have their sights set on winning the Finals, although the Minnesota Timberwolves are currently standing in their way.
The Spurs went only 1-2 against the Wolves in the regualr season, although Victor Wembanyama did not suit up for one of those losses. The Spurs will enter the season fully healthy, but the same can't be said for Minnesota, as Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwards, and Ayo Dosunmu are all currently listed on the injury report.
In Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert took over on both ends of the floor, sealing the series for the Timberwolves. Gobert and Wembanyama have a long-standing mentor/mentee relationship, and the pair are excited to go at it on the playoff stage.
Wemby, Gobert Outline Relationship
In 2020, Wembanyama was just a teenager playing in the equivalent of the French minor leagues. With Gobert back home in France and some COVID-19 restrictions lifted, he held a mini workout for some of France's most promising young players.
A clip of Wembanyama dicing up the reigning Defensive Player of the Year went viral, and for many, that was their introduction to The Alien.
Gobert took the young, towering player under his wing, and the two have remained close ever since. Gobert is the second-best NBA player to ever come from France, behind only Tony Parker, but his playstyle lends itself well to showing Wemby the ropes.
The Spurs' youngster is excited to go head to head with one of his earliest mentors.
"It's even more fun if we're playing against Rudy," said Wembanyama once the Wolves officially beat the Nuggets. "We were in the weight room after [the viral clip], I saw how he worked, saw how he worked out...It was a big moment, for sure. It was very fun."
Gobert, despite finding both team and individual success with the Utah Jazz and Wolves, has never played in the NBA Finals. He knows that the Spurs may be young and inexperienced, but he's not ready to write them off, especially as they're headlined by one of the league's top players.
"It's a great challenge," he said after beating Denver. "It's another really, really good team with a unique all-time player, so top three MVP candidate too, so it's a great, great challenge and we're excited for that. You know, that's exactly what I said about Jokic, that as a competitor, that's what you live for, it's the same with Victor and it's the same with the Spurs, you know, they had an incredible regular season, they won more than 60 games, which is really, really hard to do in an 82-game season, and they have a very good collective unit on both ends of the floor and they're really well-coached, so it's going to be a great challenge and I'm looking forward to it."
Being compared to Nikola Jokic by one of the best defenders to ever play the game is no small feat, and World Basketball fans will be treated to a top-notch matchup in the second round. Game 1 will tip off on Monday.