PARIS (AP) — The first enormous roar from the crowd came before the game even started. All Victor Wembanyama needed to do to get the fans in Paris into a full-blown frenzy was, it turned out, say hello into a microphone.
The roar just from that lasted about 30 seconds.
Welcome home, Wemby. For the first time as an NBA player, Wembanyama played in his homeland on Thursday — the star attraction in this two-game set of games between San Antonio and Indiana, a series that concludes on Saturday night.
And it didn't disappoint. Countless fans showed up in Wembanyama jerseys. All of his jerseys, that is. Spurs jerseys in at least three different colors. French national team jerseys. The jerseys he wore when he played in the French league. NBA games are a big deal wherever they go in the world, but this was different. This was a homecoming.
“I would just say it’s a pleasure to be part of a league with Victor Wembanyama,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said before the game.
Wembanyama got — by far — the loudest ovation when the starters were introduced. When his face was shown on the scoreboard video screens during the playing of France's national anthem, the building simply roared. He won the opening tap to start the game; another roar. He missed the game's first shot, drawing an audible groan.
This wasn't Spurs-Pacers. This was Wemby and a lot of other guys. And if there was pressure, Wembanyama — the league's reigning rookie of the year and a likely All-Star this season — didn't seem fazed.
“We’re just here to continue to support, nurture and do whatever we can to help him in that regard," acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "But he is about as mature of a young man at being able to compartmentalize some of the stuff as I’ve ever seen.”
Poor Boomer. He's the Pacers mascot. He's a blue, furry thing. Part of his in-game tasks include wearing oversized mitts on his hands and encouraging fans to clap for some defense. This ordinarily works wonders at Pacers home games, which this matchup technically was, at least on paper.
Boomer was foiled repeatedly on Thursday. Cheering with him, you see, meant fans would have been cheering against Wembanyama's Spurs. Not going to happen. Not in Paris.
“We know these are two road games,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
