Spurs' Victor Wembanyama unveils pair of courts in hometown - ESPN

LE CHESNAY, France — Victor Wembanyama stood on the center stripe of a new outdoor court in his hometown, his arms outstretched to their full 8-foot wingspan as he posed for a slew of photographers.

He could not have seemed happier.

Wembanyama unveiled a gift of sorts to his hometown and the next generation on Tuesday, a pair of outdoor courts — one for 5-on-5 play, the other for 3-on-3 play — that were built to the specifications that he wanted and sketched out himself.

«For those of you that don't know, this started in a room with an idea,» San Antonio general manager Brian Wright said, as about five dozen kids sat on the court in front of him and another 100 or so people watched from adjacent courtside seating. «And I remember watching Victor going on a whiteboard and literally drawing every single detail of the court that you see today and putting his heart and soul into designing this court for the children to play on. It speaks to how special you are and how special this is to you, so thank you, Victor.»

Wembanyama and the Spurs are in France this week, playing a pair of games Thursday and Saturday in Paris against the Indiana Pacers. France is Wembanyama's homeland, as everyone knows. And it's often assumed that he's from Paris, but he's from Le Chesnay — about 12 miles (20 kilometers) west of the city.

It was important to him to make this happen in time for the Spurs' visit there. Others did not think that was realistic.

«Impossible,» said Le Chesnay's mayor, Richard Delepierre.

The challenges were many: There were old courts in that space to excavate, designs to be approved, it's not great weather for construction at this time of year and, if all that weren't enough, building anything so close to the Palace of