Victor Wembanyama opens up on kung fu training with monks in China, loss of Gregg Popovich as coach

New York Times

21-06-2025

NEW YORK — Just your average Saturday in Midtown Manhattan, where Victor Wembanyama and Kevin Hart lounged shirtless in water-filled metal tubs, designed specifically for their body lengths, with the comedian asking the budding NBA superstar about working out with monks for two weeks in China.
Yes, that's a lot to take in.
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The 21-year-old San Antonio Spurs center participated in two heavily attended events during Saturday's session of Fanatics Fest at Javits Center. First, Wembanyama bathed beside Hart for an episode of the comedian's podcast 'Cold as Balls' and followed up by sitting in 'The Shop' with LeBron James, Tom Brady and streamer Kai Cenat.
Each setting brought out relaxed conversations, as well as some interesting questions from Hart and 'The Shop' panel to Wembanyama. Both forums focused on the curiosity about Wembanyama's trip to China.
He tried to be casual about it with 'The Shop,' saying, 'I was just in China the last two weeks practicing with the monks.'
Many in the panel from 'The Shop' chimed in, not letting the 'oh, by the way' answer slide, including Brady, who said, 'We've got to hear more on that.' Wembanyama laughed and obliged. He visited the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China, along with a member of the Spurs' strength training staff.
'It was a great experience,' Wembanyama said. 'My goal going there was putting my body through things that it's not used to doing and allowing my range of movement and strength. This was probably as very different as possible from what I'm used to doing.'
What did that entail?
'Kung fu. Everyday. It was like a vegan temple, monastery. … I was isolated,' Wembanyama said. He added that many of the meals consisted of zucchini and rice noodles. That meant sneaking out to eat some sort of meat to maintain his weight, which he told Hart is up to 245 pounds.
The most notable physical change from the trip for Wembanyama is his hairstyle. The first thing the monks asked Wembanyama to do was to shave his head. He did so without hesitation. 'I'm pretty sure I'm Buddhist now,' Wembanyama joked. 'It was worth it.'
Wembanyama didn't discuss his injury status after a blood clot in his right shoulder ended his 2024-25 season in February. It's expected he'll be ready for the start of this upcoming season, though.
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It's also the first time Wembanyama has spoken publicly about Gregg Popovich leaving the bench as the Spurs' coach.
Wembanyama admitted he was shocked when Popovich stepped down in early May after 29 seasons as the team's mentor. He moved to a front office position with Mitch Johnson taking over Popovich's former role.
'First of all, the person,' Wembanyama said. 'We were all really close. We all have really good relationships between the teammates and him. It's always sad and shocking when something like this happens. What's incredible with him is that he keeps giving hope being the person that he is. He keeps inspiring us. Because the way he works, he works harder than most athletes in the world.'
Maybe it was random for Hart to ask Wembanyama if he's a big Kevin Durant fan, to which the Spurs center replied, 'That's right.'
Or maybe it wasn't, given the Spurs rank among the top teams that the Suns forward, who turns 37 in September, would prefer to be traded to before next season. Wembanyama said Durant's game has inspired him all of his life, but Hart and Wembanyama stopped short of a sales pitch to keep the conversation tamper-free.