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A new NBA season tips off this week, and Wembymania in San Antonio can hardly contain itself.
Many eyes will be on basketball’s number one draft pick, 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama, who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs, as the "Silver and Black" host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at the Frost Bank Center.
The expectations and hype are as high as Wembanyama is tall.
The seven feet four-inch-tall player, nicknamed Wemby, is being called a generational talent and is considered the most promising player since LeBron James was chosen number one by Cleveland 20 years ago.
The former French pro is celebrated in a local mariachi song, a style of music sometimes reserved to honor heroes south of the border.
The song by Mariachis Campanas de America is not the only tribute.
The teenager has yet to set foot on a court during a regular season game but there’s already an 18-foot-tall painted plywood statue of Wembanyama on a South Side avenue.
Cardboard cutouts of his head now fill sports bars. There are hamburgers on menus named after him.
And there was a sighting of a one-of-a-kind Wemby license plate.
Mark’s Outing, a burger joint near downtown, is home to one of many barrio wall murals that have popped up around town of the potential star.
Owner Mark Outing said the love is mutual between the city and Wembanyama.
“We've actually ran through a lot of guys who end up in San Antonio, and they're not grateful to be here. You know, we've seen a lot of them leave, but he seems to be really, really excited about coming to play for our team,” he said.
He added: “I always said if you really like what you do and you’re excited about it, then you're probably going to make a tremendous impact not only San Antonio, but the game as a whole."
Wembanyama turned up to see the mural at Outing’s place and thanked its artist, Michael Sanchez, which left him a little choked up.
“It just showed a lot of him,” Outing said. “The way he really is … when he showed up just to meet me ... you know what I mean?"
Wemby has crisscrossed the city to thank other fans like Sanchez, wearing his newly adopted cowboy hat. It’s all captured in a Spurs video making the rounds on social media.
“Howdy ya’ll, this is “Wemby," he said in the video. "We’re in San Antonio now. I'm going to take you around town to show you guys who's the most faithful fan base in the NBA."
Wembenyama is equally talented on offense and defense, and his eight-feet arm span makes it hard for offenses to pass a ball around him.
But Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said he’s already annoyed by all the Wemby questions from the media. He said the young player still has to put in the work.
“He’s no different than anyone else,” Popovich said. “You know, he’s gotta develop and improve knowledge of the game and some of his skills just like any other player.”
For his part, Wembenyama said he’s ready to play whatever role Popovich thinks is needed within the team.
“I know I can bring some help to this team, and the best way for me to help it is not to put me in a box, so he knows it,” Wembanyama said. “He's learned to know me, and I'm learning to know him."
Fan excitement is running so high Spurs fans feel a sixth NBA Championship may be within sights.
"They want to win another championship. The Spurs have missed the playoffs in each of the last four seasons. Spurs fans are not used to that," said Larry Ramirez, sports director at San Antonio TV station KSAT 12.
Martinez has covered the team for a couple of decades.
He said Spurs fans have grown weary of not just losing but losing their glory days under past greats such as David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker, another once young Frenchman who played here.
Then a sports miracle of epic proportions this year — the Spurs landed the NBA's number one pick.
"And now you add in Wemby — Spurs fans here are going crazy nuts in a good way because they can see on the horizon that the Spurs are going to be contending once again for NBA championships," Martinez said. "I don't think it's going to happen right away.”
Wembanyama seems to be handling all the hype and pressure well so far. He added that he definitely feels the love from fans.
"It's really, really funny, you know, walking around or driving around and just seeing my face sometimes, but I love it, you know?” Wembanyama said “It’s always in a same, healthy way here. They treat me like family, even though they don't know me personally."
Spurs fan Anjelica Guzman-Jeffery may have best summed up fan’s hopes for Wembanyama and the Spurs this season on the June day the Spurs made him their number one pick.
“The city goes the way the Spurs go. I know that’s kind of funny, but I just feel that way," she said.
She’s not the only one that feels that way. All of Spurs Nation feels that way.
