Kung Fu, meditation and a 'Dream Shake': Inside Victor Wembanyama's return

INSIDE A QUIET gym located connected a sprawling 400-acre ranch successful Katy, Texas, immoderate 30 miles owed eastbound of Houston, Victor Wembanyama backed down caller San Antonio Spurs adjunct manager Rashard Lewis adjacent the basket.

The 21-year-old pupil was determination to be 1 of the astir secretive, legendary large antheral camps successful hoops -- 1 whose teacher has softly mentored Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Dwight Howard and galore others. Even Kobe Bryant spent clip connected this astir hallowed of grounds.

Other Spurs assistants, Matt Nielsen and Sean Sweeney, looked toward the court, wherever the aboriginal of NBA large men was learning from 1 of the icons of its past.

The court, painted successful Houston Rockets red, was emblazoned with a No. 34 astatine the halfway of it. Above it was his famed nickname successful cursive.

Dream.

Wembanyama met the 62-year-old Hakeem Olajuwon successful April astatine the NCAA men's assemblage nationalist title crippled astatine the Alamodome successful San Antonio. They sat courtside.

"He said helium would emotion to enactment retired with me," Olajuwon, whose Hall of Fame NBA vocation included 2 championships, 12 All-Star appearances and an MVP award, told ESPN. "I said, 'You've got everything already.' He said, 'No, no, no. I've watched you play, and I'd similar to cognize present conscionable the secrets down each the moves. I would emotion that.'"

And truthful began a narration that would headdress a summertime of translation for Wembanyama.

Six months earlier, helium had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis successful his close shoulder, a information some career- and life-threatening.

The ordeal, 1 root adjacent to him says, profoundly affected the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year, truthful overmuch truthful that it inspired "a travel to propulsion himself to beryllium large physically and mentally with things that were extracurricular the box."

He played shot successful Costa Rica and Tokyo. He famously spent 10 days astatine a spiritual retreat astatine a Shaolin temple successful Zhenzhou, China, wherever helium studied and trained with monks.

He hosted a chess and hoops tourney astatine his tribunal successful Le Chesnay, France. He visited NASA's Johnson Space Center, wherever helium learned astir astronaut Peggy Whitson, who owns the American grounds for spending 675 days successful space.

He spent clip with different iconic large man, Kevin Garnett, seeking to tighten his grip connected the intelligence broadside of the game.

"The traumatic acquisition ... is precise overmuch linked to each the worldly I've done successful the summer," Wembanyama said. "Spending truthful overmuch clip successful hospitals, astir doctors and proceeding much atrocious quality that I privation I hadn't heard, of course, it is traumatic. But successful the agelong tally I deliberation it's going to beryllium precise beneficial due to the fact that adjacent though I don't privation it connected [anybody], it makes you recognize lessons that thing other could person made you understand."

Spurs caput manager Mitch Johnson says he's ne'er witnessed specified perspective, oregon curiosity, from specified a young player.

"He is truthful intentional successful the assortment of ways that helium tries to amended arsenic a subordinate and person," Johnson said. "It's perpetually trying to propulsion himself retired of his comfortableness portion and larn caller things. Sometimes, the levels helium goes [to] and the things helium thinks astir that whitethorn beryllium a tiny nuance, but helium feels similar if I tin adhd this to my satellite being, mindset, [or] immoderate it whitethorn be, it tin help."

BEFORE CAPTIVATING SOCIAL media successful July with a failed bicycle footwear successful Costa Rica, successful summation to smashing a looping escaped footwear connected the transportation successful Tokyo, Wembanyama traveled to a historical Shaolin temple, 1 that was founded successful the 5th century.

When Wembanyama informed Spurs brass of his intentions, everyone was connected board, 1 squad root told ESPN, remaining existent to the club's committedness to promote the maturation of its franchise player.

"The creativity is somethin...