Wembanyama featured in LOVE Magazine: Blocking shots is like ruining someone's day, learning Shaolin Kung Fu was a long-held dream

On March 5th Beijing time, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was featured in the fashion magazine "LOVE", discussing his signature shot-blocking skills and reminiscing about his days learning Kung Fu at Shaolin in China last summer. The full article is as follows—

French superstar Victor Wembanyama has reshaped the game of basketball—and indeed the world around him—to his monumental scale: a figure of mythical proportions, carving his place among the basketball gods.

It might not be kind to laugh, but some "sins" deserve to be forgiven—

A Grizzlies forward driving to the basket was abruptly halted mid-layup.

A Hawks point guard's mid-range jumper was sent back the way it came.

A Hornets shooting guard's jump shot was "stolen" before it even left his hands.

What these players experienced is, in common parlance, a blocked shot. The architect of it all is the 22-year-old, 7'4" Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, clips of which have long gone viral online.

But the term "block" hardly does justice to his defense.

With a staggering 8-foot wingspan and fingers as long as cigars, Wembanyama doesn't just "block" shots; he erases them—absorbing all offensive momentum like a black hole swallows light.

The offensive player leaps, or attempts to, while Wembanyama, astonishingly, doesn't even need to leave the ground.

He stands there, nonchalant, collecting the basketball as easily as tossing an item into a shopping cart. The comedy in these moments isn't just the humiliation itself. These "victims" evoke our sympathy. Watching their futile efforts, we laugh not only at their powerlessness but also at our own insignificance, at our audacity in the face of an absolute gap.

What does it feel like to be the embodiment of that "absolute gap," to be the "Reaper" that strikes fear into mere mortals?

For Wembanyama, it's pure joy.

"It feels like ruining someone's day," he said with a mischievous grin when I asked about the sensation of a block. "Sometimes it's actually funny. You think to yourself: why did they even try?"

Wembanyama was the Spurs' No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft and subsequently the unanimous Rookie of the Year—a rare feat in NBA history. He has led the league in blocks per game in each of the past three seasons.

Last December, he became only the third player in NBA history to record a block in 100 consecutive games, joining legendary big men Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo.

Remarkably, for a player of his height and center of gravity, Wembanyama is also a nimble ball-handler and potent scorer (averaging 24 points per game this season), placing him in the category of "unicorn" scorers like Kevin Durant and his Spurs predecessor Tim Duncan—despite being nearly 5 inches taller than both.

This unique combination of gifts has led many to declare he possesses one of the most elite talent packages in NBA history.

Standing before Wembanyama in a San Antonio photo studio, it's hard to imagine seeing the basket past him, let alone scoring. He is like a walking eclipse, an archetype of myth and fable.

One of his nicknames is "The Alien," a moniker that feels somewhat inhumane. Yet when he stands among ordinary people, he seems like a different branch of human evolution.

Being out of scale with the world has its annoyances.

"Nothing is designed for me," Wembanyama says. "Every little thing is harder, more taxing on the body."

His biggest regret is not being able to drive a normal-sized car. Although as a teenager, he once pushed the seat all the way back and squeezed into a Nissan 350Z. Almost all his clothes, except underwear, must be custom-made.

It's easy to assume Wembanyama's shot-blocking dominance is merely a byproduct of genetics. But refreshingly, his prowess stems from the most fundamental path: hard work, and a fierce desire to silence doubters.

As a teenager playing in regional leagues in France, Wembanyama was labeled as an offensive player who didn't defend.Critics accused him of being too focused on scoring. Like the intensely competitive basketball deities of history, Wembanyama took those words to heart.

"That hurt my pride deeply," he says. "I felt I had to prove myself." At age 15, playing for the French junior team in the U16 European Championship, he averaged 5 blocks per game, leading the tournament.

His march toward greatness hit its first major setback last February: he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder—a blood clot that can be life-threatening if untreated. The diagnosis led to months of treatment and rehab, ending his season.

"When I first found out, I broke down," he says. "I didn't know how long I'd be out. For a while, I allowed myself to be completely vulnerable, helpless. But then I shifted my perspective, seeing it as a challenge. If this is the test for my life, I will do everything to turn it into my advantage."

Wembanyama assembled an all-star team of specialists—trainers, physiotherapists, doctors, surgeons, sports scientists—and embarked on a grueling regimen.

After making a full recovery last spring,he traveled to China for a 10-day pilgrimage—a long-held dream—to study Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple.

"It gave me something I could never get from just basketball training," Wembanyama says with a hint of nostalgia. "I ran in the mountains for hours until my feet hurt, practicing a whole new set of movements: lifting my feet over my head, jumping with full force, kicking."

"The timing couldn't have been more perfect," he concludes. "Because of the rehab and that long summer, I pushed my body to recover beyond its limits, to break through barriers."

Mortals, take note.