From dunks to disqualification: Inside Victor Wembanyama’s first weekend as an NBA All-Star

SAN FRANCISCO — Surrounded on a court in the cavernous lower level of the Moscone Center, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama stared into a crowd that kept swelling by the second.

He had just dropped hoops jewels for kids in attendance, advising them to “work on your weaknesses so they become your strengths.” Wembanyama then described his first experience as an NBA All-Star as “intense,” only to ratchet up that feeling later with a crowd-pleasing display of confidence Friday as he closed out an NBA Crossover event.

Asked to predict the MVP of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, Wembanyama smiled.

“I’d have to bet on myself,” he said.

Those words whipped the crowd into chants of “Wemby, Wemby, Wemby,” as the 21-year-old from France scanned the sea of phones held high by fans looking to chronicle this moment.

But the sentiment was nothing new. Almost two weeks prior, Wembanyama promised the weekend in San Francisco would be business as usual.

“I don’t have any interest in making friends or trying to do anything,” Wembanyama said Feb. 3. “I’m here for work.”

Ultimately, he didn’t win MVP of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. Stephen Curry earned that honor. But the first-time All-Star still had a successful work trip.

“I’ll try to cool down and forget a little bit about basketball for 48 hours, that’s it,” he said Sunday night. “I’ll put this on my résumé. It’s done. I didn’t make any friends. But I learned a lot. I asked a lot of questions, and I got a lot of very interesting answers. It was a pleasure to share the floor with these experienced players. “

WEMBANYAMA LOGGED 36 minutes in a 116-103 loss at Boston on Wednesday, scoring 17 points with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in San Antonio’s sixth consecutive road game, which marked the halfway point of the club’s annual rodeo road trip.

Usually, at this juncture of San Antonio’s monthlong trek, road weariness starts to set in for the Spurs.

Maybe it played a role in Wembanyama attempting just six shots and being held to seven points in the second half against the Celtics. But he flashed youthful enthusiasm in the aftermath of that loss when discussing goals for his first NBA All-Star Game.

“First, winning [is the goal],” Wembanyama said. “I hope it turns out to be like every other recent game, slow and just playing around. I hope I can bring that contrast with a single guy who goes crazy, dives on the ball, hustles on every play. I’m definitely going to try to bring that energy.”

So, after a workout, postgame interviews and a treatment session, Wembanyama boarded a flight that night in Boston with teammate Stephon Castle bound for San Francisco, while the rest of the team headed home to rest up during All-Star break.

Wembanyama and Castle landed in San Francisco at 4 a.m. Thursday and headed straight to the St. Regis hotel via a passenger van.

By noon, Wembanyama was leaving the hotel for a private fitting with Nike, his first commitment in a day chock full of them.

Thursday

• 2:30 p.m.: After the fitting with Nike, Wembanyama headed to an appearance with 2K Games, maker of the popular NBA 2K video games. He played games with various contest winners in attendance, in addition to filming content with multiple social media influencers. Last season, Wembanyama ranked as the highest-rated rookie (84) in the game’s history.

• 5 p.m.: Wembanyama left his 2K Games appearance to hit the NBA’s in-house media circuit. There, he participated in photoshoots for the league as well as content for some of its social media channels.

• 7:30 p.m.: Wembanyama attended a personal dinner in downtown San Francisco after a cocktail hour with his agency, Comsport. He returned to the St. Regis hotel by 9 p.m. and stayed in for the night, sources told ESPN.

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OUTSIDE THE HILTON San Francisco Union Square, a cavalcade of honking horns floated on the cool winds gusting through downtown. Dozens of black vans and gigantic black SUVs filled both sides of the street and the valet area.

The league’s annual NBA All-Star Technology Summit is an invitation-only event that involves A-listers from the NBA such as team owners, as well as leaders in other industries, and most of the discussions are off the record for media coverage.

Wembanyama arrived at noon and ditched the active wear he wore most of the trip for clothing more suitable for the occasion. With TNT’s Ernie Johnson hosting, Wembanyama participated in a panel discussion about leadership in 2025 along with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu; Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin; record executive Steve Stoute; and USA Basketball chairperson Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“It’s been growing in intensity these last two days because before that, I really did not think about All-Star Weekend because of all the games, the season,” Wembanyama said of his hectic All-Star schedule. “So, I don’t fully realize that I’m going to play in the All-Star Game yet. But I’m seeing all the energy now. It’s really different even from last year to Season 2. It feels like the whole city is vibing around the NBA right now. So, it feels like we really have an impact that I’ve rarely seen before.”

Victor Wembanyama putting the kids through some drills at jr. NBA event. pic.twitter.com/wrh5GTUJ5H

— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) February 14, 2025

Wembanyama’s party departed the tech summit via passenger van and arrived 30 minutes later at the Moscone Center. He remained in the van for nearly 10 minutes eating lunch and changing into a Nike Nocta sweatsuit to attend a junior NBA event and NBA Crossover.

On the second level of the Moscone Center in the Esplanade ballroom, Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson strolled through unnoticed as the shrieks of kids excited to see Wembanyama flooded a room outfitted with three half-court setups and two full courts.

Dozens of children huddled around Wembanyama as he dapped up several of them. Wembanyama led a quick huddle breakdown before the kids scattered to form lines for basketball drills. Over the course of 39 minutes, Wembanyama moved from court to court playing defense against the children as they cycled through drills.

Just before 3 p.m., Wembanyama and his team — which included NBA and Spurs personnel — quietly slipped out the back of the room through a black floor-to-ceiling curtain.

Minutes later, he emerged on the lower level of the Moscone Center for the NBA Crossover event, which took place on a small replica court surrounded by chain-link fences that fans gripped with glee as they tried to catch a glimpse of a generational superstar.

“The NBA is in good hands with you continuing to improve as a player, as a human,” the host of the event told Wembanyama. “So, ladies and gentlemen, let’s all get one more big round of applause.”

Wembanyama turned to his left after several seconds of applause. With his party in tow, the group slipped behind another black curtain headed for the van parked outside.

Friday

• 6 a.m.: Wembanyama woke up to find he would have the entire morning to himself. So, he ate breakfast at the St. Regis and hung out at the hotel until it was time to load into the van for the technology summit.

• 4 p.m.: After the events at the Moscone Center, Wembanyama headed to Oakland to watch the Nike EYBL Scholastic game. Led by Alabama commit Davion Hannah, Link Academy edged out Monteverde Academy 40-39. Hannah scored 15 points with 4 rebounds and 2 steals to win the MVP trophy, which was presented by Wembanyama.

• 7:30 p.m.: Wembanyama capped the night with a dinner downtown. He didn’t attend the Rising Stars game, where Castle was named MVP, because he didn’t want to take away from his teammate’s moment, sources told ESPN.

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AN NBA OFFICIAL in a black suit presented the rules sheet for the NBA Skills Challenge to Wembanyama and teammate Chris Paul while the Chase Center crowd booed. Team Spurs had just been disqualified from the competition, the official told them.

In the weeks leading up to NBA All-Star weekend, Wembanyama told everyone asking about his plans to win every event in San Francisco. Having perused the rules beforehand, Wembanyama thought he had found a foolproof way to save precious time in a bid to steal the Skills Challenge, and convinced Paul to execute the plan.

“I don’t regret it,” he said afterward. “I thought it was a good idea.”

NBA officials disagreed.

Wembanyama and Paul were disqualified from the Skills Challenge because officials deemed their shot attempts invalid.

Still, Wembanyama devised what he thought was a clever scheme to skirt the rules.

“We tried something we thought could win to see if we had the best time,” Paul said.

The NBA Skills Challenge consists of a series of bounce passes, chest passes, dribbling and various shots from different locations on the floor. The rules required that players either make one shot or attempt three, whichever came first.

The Spurs duo essentially skipped the shots except one (a Wembanyama dunk) in favor of concentrating on the passes. Wembanyama and Paul finished the opening round with a blazing time of 47.9 seconds before officials disqualified them.

“We had the best time,” Wembanyama said. “The numbers speak for themselves.”

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, who competed in the event with teammate Moses Moody, mentioned that Wembanyama had inquired about the legality of the Spurs’ approach beforehand with multiple people.

“Wemby walked around the court asking everybody because they say make one or [take] three attempts,” Green said. “So, Wemby said, ‘Oh, I can just get all three of them up there?’ So, he asked. He may not have asked the right people. In Wemby’s defense, he asked a lot of people. I heard him ask five or six people.”

Wembanyama took the loss in stride, according to multiple sources, though he had prepared as if the Skills Challenge were a real NBA game.

The Spurs flew their massage therapist to San Francisco, along with the physical therapist and performance coach to run Wembanyama through his usual pregame routine, a source told ESPN, because “he takes it so seriously.”

Wembanyama hadn’t undergone treatment since the loss Wednesday in Boston. So, upon arrival at the arena, the Spurs’ strength and performance team worked Wembanyama through an extensive stretching routine, massage, warmup and activation for a Skills Challenge that ultimately ended in disappointment.

“If the challenge lets us do that,” Wembanyama said afterward, “there’s a loophole. It means we’re not the problem.”

Saturday

• 9 a.m.: Wembanyama departed the St. Regis hotel for an NBA family hospitality event and brunch at Oakland Arena, where he would take pictures in his All-Star uniform with friends and family members.

• 11:08 a.m.: Wembanyama arrived at Oakland Arena for his first NBA All-Star media day ahead of practice. Wembanyama reiterated during his availability that he was “not here to make friends.”

• 1 p.m.: Wembanyama headed back to his hotel in San Francisco before departing for Chase Center at 2:30 to begin Saturday’s festivities.

• 3:59 p.m.: With several cameramen in tow, Wembanyama headed down a hallway at Chase Center to the locker room.

• 8:22 p.m.: One minute after Wembanyama and Paul complete the skills course in under 48 seconds, they’re informed they’re disqualified. They try to protest from their sideline seats to no avail. Later, TNT attempts to interview them during the broadcast, but an NBA official steps in and prevents the interview from proceeding.

• 10:30 p.m.: Despite the mini-controversy, Wembanyama changed into street clothes and stayed at Chase Center to watch Castle compete in a hotly-contested dunk contest against Mac McClung, who would defeat Castle in the final to claim his third consecutive crown. It’s clear Wembanyama was around during Castle’s preparation for the contest, judging how he mimicked the rookie’s 360 behind the back left-handed dunk from the sideline.

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AS A RESERVE on Team Chuck’s Global Stars, Wembanyama subbed into his team’s semifinal matchup — the first game of the NBA All-Star mini tournament — with his squad leading 17-12.

His first bucket came on a dunk with an assist from Atlanta’s Trae Young. But the first true eye-popping moment of All-Star Weekend was when Wembanyama slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a lob from three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to give the Global Stars a 34-27 advantage.

Wembanyama finished that game with 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting with 4 rebounds and a block in a little more than 6 minutes on the floor as the Global Stars advanced to the tournament championship with a 41-32 win.

In the title game, Wembanyama scored a team-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor with 3 rebounds and 1 block, as the rest of the Global Stars shot 6-of-24 in a 41-25 loss to Shaq’s OGs before a sellout crowd of 17,539.

Wembanyama stayed true to his word to compete hard.

“I thought he played like he plays in a game, seriously,” Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard said. “When I saw him, I was like, ‘He is not messing around.'”

Wembanyama finished the tournament with 17 points over two games with 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal. Most importantly, he discovered he’s got what it takes to seriously compete against the world’s best hoopers on a grand stage.

“I’m in much better shape this year than I was last year,” Wembanyama said after the game. “My body is much more adaptive to this rhythm. My biggest takeaway is it’s possible to give 100% on that court, to play hard, to play your ass off. For me, it’s the only way to play basketball.”

Sunday

• 1:40 p.m.: Wembanyama left the St. Regis hotel on the way to Chase Center for the final day of All-Star Weekend.

• 2:37 p.m.: Wembanyama walked into Chase Center with Castle following close behind. Castle was wearing Wembanyama’s red No. 1 All-Star jersey backward over a gray hoodie.

• 4:19 p.m.: Wembanyama posed for photos before his walkthrough for pregame introductions. He spent time signing NBA All-Star memorabilia before San Antonio’s strength and conditioning crew gave him one last treatment.

• 5:10 p.m.: With Oakland native and three-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer Raphael Saadiq performing in the background, Wembanyama walked across the stage as he was introduced as an All-Star for the first time in his career.