Watch: 7'4" Victor Wembanyama dribbles past three for emphatic dunk en route to becoming All-Star MVP for France

7-foot-4 French draft prospect Victor Wembanyama
7-foot-4 French draft prospect Victor Wembanyama

Media sensation Victor Wembanyama had another dominant performance as he took home MVP in the LNB All-Star Game in France on Thursday night.

The 7-foot-4 French draft prospect finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. He also helped lead his French team to a 136-128 victory over the World team.

The game took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,833 at the Accor Arena in Paris. Fans flocked in to catch a glimpse of the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Victor Wembanyama’s highlight reel included a play in the first quarter in which he took multiple defenders off the dribble at the 3-point line. Wembanyama then proceeded to do a crossover move before taking the ball straight to the rim for a slam dunk that caused fans to erupt.

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.

Wembanyama was grateful to receive the MVP award. However, he felt that the overall experience of participating in the game was more memorable than being named MVP.

“I hope my future titles will eclipse this performance but it was a pleasant experience in general, that’s more what I remember, rather than the title of MVP,” Wembanyama said.

Wembanyama also added that he was a bit puzzled by his selection as the game’s MVP. He felt that French forward Juhann Begarin was more deserving of the award as he had a better rating. This is a total based on the addition of all the different statistical categories in the game.

Begarin finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

“A (MVP) title that I don’t really understand since I see that Juhann (Begarin) had 38 evaluation against 32 for me, he has almost no statistics below mine. I doubt why he wasn’t elected MVP, but I think he deserves it, I’m sure in fact.
“If my potential has been rewarded more than the talent expressed tonight? No, I don’t think so. A major trophy? I will rejoice when I have a trophy with my team,” Wembanyama continued.

Though he felt that he may not have deserved the MVP award, fans were still more than happy to see him deliver a memorable performance.

youtube-cover


Victor Wembanyama on his LNB 3-point Shootout loss and LNB Slam Dunk Contest assist

Haitian-born French basketball player Yves Pons jumping over Victor Wembanyama in the LNB Slam Dunk Contest
Haitian-born French basketball player Yves Pons jumping over Victor Wembanyama in the LNB Slam Dunk Contest

Outside of his dominant performance in the LNB All-Star game, Victor Wembanyama also gave his best shot in the LNB 3-point Shootout. However, the young star struggled, finishing in fourth place with 12 points. French sharpshooting guard Nicolas Lang eventually won the contest.

Despite the loss, Wembanyama still had fun with the experience.

“A pleasant experience, a super hard exercise, a great challenge, I would have liked to try it again,” Wembanyama said.

Likewise, he also enjoyed assisting Haitian-born French basketball player Yves Pons in the LNB Slam Dunk Contest. Pons jumped over Wembanyama for one of his dunks, which led to winning the contest.

“He had asked me before and I saw that I could go there in full confidence with him, without fear that he would hit me. It was a collective effort,” Victor Wembanyama said.

Following the fun evening, Wembanyama said he is now looking forward to a well-deserved break with his family.

“I was waiting for this end-of-year break to see my family and think about something other than basketball,” he said.

Wembanyama's next regular season game is not till Jan. 9 against Lyon-Villeurbanne.


Also read this: Victor Wembanyama on NBA teams tanking to get him drafted for next season: “It’s a weird strategy”

Or this: NBA draft possibility: Victor Wembanyama to the Detroit Pistons

Quick Links

Edited by Anantaajith Raghuraman
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications