Every week, history repeats itself: social networks (and ours in particular) are flooded with highlights and articles flow in from everywhere, when Victor Wembanyama put one foot on a wooden floor.
Today the hype around the Frenchman is such that the NBA has not hesitated to surf on it right now, when he has not even landed in the United States yet. Inviting him, for example, to Las Vegas, with Boulogne-Levallois, for a double confrontation with Scoot Henderson’s Ignite Team, or simply deciding to broadcast ALL its matches on its application until the end of the season. Never seen before…
The more the weeks pass, the more this “Wembamania” grows, as the 18-year-old phenomenon shines in the club (and now in the national team). In the Hauts-de-Seine, it is now almost impossible to attend a match of the Mets, who constantly play to sold-out crowds and who sell their tickets in no time.
Even the personalities (Michael Douglas, Lionel Jospin…) are now crowding into the stands of the Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan and we are now wondering when Vincent Collet’s men will play at Bercy, just to satisfy as many curious people as possible…
An unprecedented hype… and disproportionate?
Except that, like any self-respecting attraction, Victor Wembanyama is now starting to annoy some in France. Not directly, because his behavior in the media and on the courts is almost beyond reproach, but rather because of all the hype and the media coverage it generates, wherever it goes.
To illustrate this observation, in addition to the few messages that emerge on social networks, one only has to listen to the recent remarks of Laurent SciarraOlympic vice-champion in 2000, who has since become a coach.
” [La hype Victor Wembanyama], it tires me. It really tires me out “, he admits for the Republic of the Pyrenees. ” We had a hyper phenomenon [Kylian] Mbappé and we want the same with this boy. So much the better that he is No. 1 in the Draft, that he plays 25-30 minutes thanks to Vincent Collet in a club that does not play in the European Cup and that he can do his range. But the other 11-12-13 who are there [avec lui], we do not talk about it? Vincent Collet who has been doing a crazy job for years, we don’t talk about it? There, I saw that he was in the headlines and we were only talking about him. [C’est un] Mbappé bis. And all that makes me tired. […] When you take an individual out of a collective sport, it has the gift of inflating me. Not there anymore, so young. We did it with [Tony] parker and [Boris] Diaw, but they had done more than their scales. When you are NBA champion, you have the right in certain respects. There, I find that the hype is gigantic. That’s good, but there’s still a long way to go, he’s only 18. »
Hence this question: aren’t we doing too much with Victor Wembanyama? Isn’t it premature to set him up as a superstar, to individualize his results and to put so much pressure on him, when he hasn’t set foot in the NBA yet and has only really been a hit since? a few weeks, in an environment where everything is done so that he can shine as much as possible?
Across the Atlantic, this practice is widespread, with players like LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins or Zion Williamson who, for example, were used to making headlines in the press at a very young age. But in Europe, and especially in France, it is a great first, to which Luka Doncic and even less Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic have never really been entitled before landing in the United States.
Here, two schools seem to oppose each other. For some, it is normal and legitimate to take advantage of this unique opportunity to praise and highlight a generational talent like Victor Wembanyama, potential locomotive of an entire sport in France. For others, it’s the best way to burn him psychologically and make him lose his footing (or take the melon…) much too soon.
But, after all, and taking the example of Kylian Mbappé in football, isn’t this the best opportunity to see what “Wemby” is made of? Everyone is free to have their opinion on this question…
