Victor Wembanyama is preparing to discover the ruthless world of NBA playoffs on Sunday night with the first match of the San Antonio Spurs against Portland in the first round of the Western Conference. He will do so with the distant support of the French public.
Out of sight but not out of mind. A survey by Odoxa for Winamax and RTL published on Sunday reveals that the French giant enjoys a well-established popularity: Wemby is now the 6th favorite sportsman of the French, the 5th among sports fans.
He is only surpassed by the swimmer Léon Marchand, judoka Teddy Riner, rugby player Antoine Dupont, footballer Kylian Mbappé and table tennis player Félix Lebrun. Among sports fans, he surpasses Lebrun and is tied with Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembélé.
Behind Marchand, Lebrun, and Dupont, 22-year-old Wembanyama ranks 4th in the ranking of athletes representing the future of national sports according to the French, and even takes 3rd place among sports fans (behind Marchand and Lebrun).
The French – especially those who consider themselves NBA fans – are optimistic for the Spurs and Wemby, expecting him to fill his trophy cabinet this year: 79% believe he will be named best defender, 62% that he will win the regular-season MVP title, and 58% the NBA title.
The season of the Spurs is as brilliant as it is unexpected in their eyes: 84% of NBA fans have been impressed by Victor Wembanyama’s performances this year, 78% believe he is the main reason for the transformation of the Spurs, and 70% did not expect the team to achieve such good results.
