“A Cheat-Code of Extraterrestrial Proportions”
A Phantom of Our Basketball Imagination
“He’s a very, very, very, very, very special talent.” - Draymond Green (Forward, Golden State Warriors)
Victor Wembanyama, otherwise known as “Wemby”, is one of those basketball players who truly deserve the “alien” tag. The twenty-two-year-old stands at an incredible 7-foot-4 with an otherworldly 8-foot wingspan and has shown the world what is truly possible on a basketball court. The San Antonio Spurs drafted Wembanyama with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Since then, he has won Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), anchored the Spurs' league-leading defensive prowess, and most importantly, led the Spurs to a Finals appearance against the New York Knicks this past NBA season. What separates him from previous freakishly tall NBA centers is that Wembanyama’s game is not just limited to staying parked under the basket. Wemby not only has an NBA-caliber handle and shooting prowess, but he is able to run up-and-down the floor with such grace, which is something not normal for someone as tall as the French center.
Non-Traditional Fitness Regimen and Otherworldly Mobility
Wembanyama is not the first abnormally tall NBA player with NBA-caliber skill. Players like Kristaps Porzingis and Yao Ming were previously labeled this way, but these super-tall players have historically struggled with slow lateral movement and recurrent joint injuries. Additionally, opposing teams relentlessly involve these centers in pick-and-roll actions to force them to play out on the perimeter, which is where their lack of lateral mobility and agility is exposed against faster guards. The way Wembanyama moves out on the NBA court can be described as a rubber band, able to contain faster guards on the perimeter while recovering to protect the rim. His long-time trainer, Guillaume Alquier, has emphasized Wemby’s training on flexibility, balance, and joint health. This approach is quite different from the traditional method of packing on heavy muscle, which would unnecessarily strain his body. His trainer puts Wemby through a variety of workouts, which include the following:
This drill targets the feet, arches, and the big toe muscle. Wemby does this exercise to train his big toe muscle to be an anchor for balance and power distribution. Strengthening this muscle leads to increased protection on his ankles and knees while allowing him to accelerate rapidly into sprints and minimizing the effects of a hard landing.
Barefoot Bear Crawls:
This exercise targets the shoulder, wrists, core, and ankles. Bear crawls force the French center’s ankles to deeply bend, otherwise known as dorsiflexion, under his body weight, which significantly improves joint stability/mobility while assisting in the build-up of a strong/stable core, lessening the stress on his spine when he prepares to jump in the air.
Elite Mental Discipline and Habits
The rest of the league already has to deal with Wembanyama’s physical gifts, but what doesn’t get talked about enough is his mental discipline. During the summer of 2025, Wemby was famously seen training with Monks in Henan, China. He trained under Master Yan’an, and he states that the entire point of this training was to “free your mind from fear and trust your awareness to guide you.”
As a professional athlete, Victor prioritizes his rest by eating a relatively early dinner around 7:00 pm, turning his phone into airplane mode after 9:00 pm, and reading fantasy books to help him wind down and fall asleep. He has told his teammates and staff to not call him late at night, so as not to disrupt his routine. He is famously known for being an avid chess player, which has been shown to improve complex tactical pattern recognition, spatial-visual memory, and focus.
He Really is Just that Good
What do you do when you have to defend a player who can create/ball handle like Kevin Durant, defend like Rudy Gobert, and run like Giannis Antetokounmpo? Nothing. As long as Wemby avoids major injuries, not much stands between him and an all-time great NBA career. He will undoubtedly win multiple MVPs and DPOYs. The Spurs' average roster age, without Wemby, is 25.4 years old, and alongside a competent coach and front office, winning multiple championships and NBA Finals MVPs really is not that far-fetched.
Sources:
Deveney, Sean. "Watch: Victor Wembanyama's Toe Workout That Went Viral." NBC Sports Boston, 18 May 2023, www.nbcsportsboston.com/news/watch-victor-wembanyamas-toe-workout-that-went-viral-2/539414/.
Goodman, Seth. "How 34 Generations of Shaolin Warrior Monk Training Helped Build Once-in-a-Generation NBA Superstar Victor Wembanyama." ESPN, 2026, www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48818786/how-34-generations-shaolin-warrior-monk-training-helped-build-once-generation-nba-superstar-victor-wembanyama.
JxmyHighroller. "We Need To Have A Conversation About Wemby." YouTube, 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnFwm4o1lA.
Russell, Tom. "Bear Crawl Muscles Worked: Boost Core, Shoulders and More." Greatist, updated 28 Oct. 2024, greatist.com/fitness/bear-crawl.
Snape, Joel. "How Victor Wembanyama Trains for Flexible Power." Men's Health, 2025, www.menshealth.com/fitness/a63917192/victor-wembanyama-training/.
"Victor Wembanyama Named 2026 Western Conference Finals MVP." NBA.com, May 2026, www.nba.com/news/victor-wembanyama-named-2026-western-conference-finals-mvp.
Sources: "Bear Walk Variations for Strong Shoulders and a Healthy Back." GMB Fitness, 4 June 2026, gmb.io/bear/.