Victor Wembanyama’s summer side quests have taken him from basketball gyms to a Texas soccer pitch.
Multiple videos posted Friday night showed the 7-foot-4 Spurs star at a park in the Houston area, wearing a Paris Saint-Germain jersey with his name on the back while he played pickup soccer. The clips caught plenty of the usual Wemby spectacle: he showed touch, took a spill, got back up, scored, and then walked off to a crowd that swarmed him with affection.
In the videos, Wembanyama spent time trying to work the ball into the box and involve teammates. He also buried one shot into the bottom corner, then copied a goal celebration associated with Kylian Mbappé, the star of France’s national team.
Later in the run, Wembanyama went for another one-timer and awkwardly reached with his right leg before falling onto his left knee. The moment looked concerning for a beat, but he popped right back up with a laugh and kept going.
The game took place in the Houston area, where Wembanyama has been part of several high-profile workouts lately. Photos have already surfaced of him working out at De'Aaron Fox's home in Katy with Harrison Barnes and new Spur Tobias Harris. He also appears to have gone to Hakeem Olajuwon’s place to work with him and Bucks center Kel'el Ware.
Soccer has long been part of Wembanyama’s world. He was seen at the World Cup this summer, and he often uses his feet and knees to juggle the basketball while warming up for games. He’s also shown up in pickup soccer before, including in a similar viral scene last summer.
And this isn’t the only non-basketball lane he’s explored. At Fanatics Fest in New York, he dribbled a baseball before throwing a few pitches, which were better than the ceremonial first pitch he delivered at Yankee Stadium before his draft.
He also tried hockey, though that didn’t go as well. On the court, of course, he was perfect, swishing every shot he took.
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