A viral clip that’s been floating around French basketball circles for years hit differently on Thursday night.
In that clip from 2020, a 16-year-old, thin but tall Victor Wembanyama could be seen scoring at will against Rudy Gobert during a scrimmage at the Nanterre 92 facility. At the time, Gobert was already a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Yet, Wemby was easily hitting the rim, avoiding Gobert’s reach.
Fast forward six years to May 2026. The San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves are set to meet in the Western Conference Semifinals, and the matchup between these two former student and mentor is the main event.
Just to recap, Gobert, now 33, was once Wemby’s mentor in France. He has won four DPOY awards, but he just witnessed Wembanyama claim his first hardware.
Back in his rookie year, Wembanyama told reporters, “Let him win it now, because after that, it’s no longer his turn.”
He kept that promise. This season, the 22-year-old led the Spurs to 62 wins while averaging 25 points and a league-high 3.1 blocks. In April, he became the first player in history to win the DPOY award unanimously, also becoming the youngest to ever receive the honor.
Victor Wembanyama faces former mentor Rudy Gobert in Western Conference semifinals
So now Gobert has to guard him in a playoff series.
The 7-foot-1 Gobert just handled the league’s top offensive center in Nikola Jokic and now faces its best all-around center, who has three or four inches on him. Gobert’s mobility allows him to track Wembanyama in the halfcourt, but the younger player is in a different gear when the pace opens up.
Gobert finished fourth in this year’s Defensive Player of the Year voting, missing the top three entirely. Meanwhile, Wembanyama took all 100 first-place votes. So, there will be some extra but friendly tension when they face off.
In two regular-season appearances against Minnesota this year, Wembanyama averaged 34.0 points, eight rebounds and two assists, consistently outperforming his season averages when facing his mentor.
Minnesota enters the series with significant injury concerns. Anthony Edwards is sidelined with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise, leaving a massive void in the Timberwolves’ scoring.
It remains to be seen how things unfold because in the throwback video, it was Wemby who showed out against Gobert.
