Victor Wembanyama spent four days immersed at Provence Rugby, from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 August. The 2.24 m San Antonio Spurs centre wanted to discover rugby before joining the France basketball team.

Four days in the daily life of a Pro D2 club

He trained with the professional squad in two sessions, on Monday 10 and Wednesday 12 August, at the club’s training centre. Non-contact one-on-one tackling on bags, kicking, high balls, ball handling, reading the play, plus weights in the Aix facilities. Midi Olympique, which revealed his presence, reports that a few lineout throws were also set aside for his 2.24 m.

The San Antonio Spurs player was not alone. Harrison Barnes, his NBA teammate and 2016 Olympic champion, came with him, along with his staff, his strength and conditioning coach and those close to him. The stay had been in the works for about a month. Wembanyama had said on ESPN in the spring that he wanted to try rugby, believing some movement patterns could carry over to basketball. It was not his first taste of the oval ball either: he had already trained at CA Brive’s academy while recovering from injury.

On Thursday evening, he watched Provence Rugby’s first pre-season match from the stands at Maurice-David, a 42-19 win over Nissa Rugby, after dropping into the dressing room for the team talk.

It must feel strange to have an athlete on your training pitch who would make your former teammate Olivier Roumat look small.

(Laughs) It was astonishing, a guy who is 2m24 and 110 kg. It was really, really good for my players, for the exchanges; they got to see a young superstar like him, with a maturity that is already very strong. Wemby wanted to get out of his comfort zones, put himself at a bit of risk, discover what playing rugby is like. So Jules Plisson became the individual skills and player development coach. He had put together two good sessions for him. He also came with Harrison Barnes, the Olympic champion who plays with him. Amazing agility, skill, coordination, application. We had given him our training centre, he was able to work with his coaches, do weights, prepare for the France team. They also had a basketball court to themselves, to work on their own sport. We were blown away by his maturity, his humility, everything he gives off, not forgetting the people around him, whether it’s his sister, his whole inner circle and his staff, the strength and conditioning. It was a great moment, a great exchange with a great French champion who is only 22, but whose thirst for learning and professionalism are quite exceptional.

He wanted to get out of his comfort zone. We have already seen him at football, he went to Brive for rugby, he plays chess, he always has a book within reach. For a staff welcoming an athlete like that, it forces you out of yours too.

We had talked a lot with the strength and conditioning coach, a guy who had done the fitness work for the rugby club in Oloron-Sainte-Marie! Wemby wanted to discover what it feels like to tackle, to get back up, so we set things up with tackle bags, no contact, one-on-one, of course. The idea was that he didn’t get injured. There was kicking, high balls, reading the play, handling games, ball skills, dexterity. That’s where you see the guy is comfortable, skilful, very focused, diligent. But yes, it’s true, it was also a nice challenge for us.

How did his arrival go, the first few hours?

At first we left him alone, he settled in, and he wanted to come and see them at the friendly. He was there for the pre-match speech in the dressing room. He was also with the players when they walked out onto the pitch. It was good for my players to talk to him about his experience, about what he goes through with 82 or 83 games a season! That is pretty impressive. It was a great meeting, he hypnotised everyone. We didn’t want to do too many selfies, we didn’t want to bother him too much. But at the end, we had 60 basketball jerseys with his name on, bought by the players and staff, and he kindly signed every single one. That’s also where you see the generosity and humility of the guy.

What next?

Both sides went their own way from the Sunday. Wembanyama joined up with France in Orléans on 16 August wearing the captain’s armband, and six days after tackling bags in Aix he was up against Nikola Jokic. His return ended in a 90-87 defeat in Belgrade on Thursday, in his first game for France since the Paris Olympics: 10 points, 1 of 6 from three, the most minutes of any France player and the ball in his hands for the equaliser on the last possession. The return match against Serbia is on Sunday 23 August in Orléans, before the 2027 World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia on 27 August at the Accor Arena, then in Sweden on the 30th.

Provence Rugby, meanwhile, open their Pro D2 season on 28 August at Maurice-David against Agen.