Victor Wembanyama cried a lot last week. First in the semi-final after qualifying against Germany, then in the final in his mother's arms after the defeat against the United States. To console him, there was this long hug with Kevin DurantThe two exchanged a few words, and for M6, the Frenchman revealed their content.
“Clearly, he is my youth icon and personally, he is my favorite player. Of course, there were the classics… The encouragement, the congratulations from one and all…” “Wemby” answers on the 19-45 plateau. “I made it clear to him that I wanted to learn from him, and potentially steal one or two of his secret techniques.”
Picking up the “KD timing”
What exactly is it? In April, after the regular season, Wembanyama had mentioned one of the “moves” he wanted to steal from Durant.
“There’s something that KD does, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, and it’s in everything he does, even without the ball. It’s that microsecond – it’s not really a hesitation because it’s so quick – where he stops but it’s enough to get the edge on the defender. He never sprints. But he moves very quickly and he has ‘KD timing,’ as I call it, on every move he makes… I’m trying to do it but I’m going to work on it this summer because it’s very hard to do.”
The same Durant had not been stingy with compliments after their first meeting. It was in November 2023 and “Wemby” had surprised everyone by planting 38 points in a Spurs victory against the Suns. Starting with Durant: “He doesn't dribble too much, or look for one-on-ones too much. He keeps it simple, and that's the mark of great players.”
