Charlotte, USA – San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama means business as he plays in his first NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 16 (Monday, February 17, Manila time).
“I’m not here to make friends. I know not everybody thinks like that,” said Wembanyama during a press conference in Oakland.
“I have some questions for some of the greats, the OGs, but I’m definitely not here to make friends.”
Wembanyama is playing for Charles Barkley under the moniker Chuck’s Global Stars.
This year, the NBA adopted a new All-Star Game format after the annual festivities drew criticisms for lack of competitiveness.
Instead of only two teams battling, the NBA split the 24 All-Stars to three teams captained by Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. The fourth team is composed of NBA rookies and sophomores and G League standouts.
“I’m always going to have fun if we win and if we perform and if we play the right way. I’m trying to approach this game with much importance,” said Wembanyama.
“The goal is not to chill, for sure.”
Wembanyama said he wants to bring back the times when players had rivalry matchups to watch out for.
He pointed to his family’s upbringing for instilling that competitive nature in him.
“It was definitely encouraged in our family’s culture around sport, of course,” he said.
He also participated with Spurs teammate Chris Paul in the Kia Skills Challenge held on Saturday, although they were both disqualified for not making any effort in the shooting section of the course.
Another thing the Frenchman hopes to take out of the weekend is to be able to bump into LeBron James, who has been selected to a record-breaking 21st All-Star Game.
“I’m sure I’m going to run into him and other guys, as well. There’s definitely — I have a list of questions, of course, yeah,” Wembanyama said. – Rappler.com