From NBA All-Star to Shaolin monk: Victor Wembanyama goes on a China retreat

HONG KONG — On the hoops court, NBA prima Victor Wembanyama plays forward-center, but successful China it seems helium has temporarily taken up the presumption of a Shaolin monk.

The towering 7-foot-3 subordinate from France has been touring astir China and appears to person taken a spiritual detour astatine Shaolin Temple successful a representation wide shared connected the Chinese societal media level Weibo.

With a shaved caput and wearing a grey robe, Wembanyama tin beryllium seen sitting successful beforehand of statues of Buddha successful a representation posted Monday by the NBA’s authoritative Weibo page, which said the subordinate had “reportedly” begun a 10-day retreat astatine the temple successful cardinal Henan province.

“Deepening his spiritual journey!” the post read.

Wembanyama is successful “closed-door martial arts training,” an worker astatine the Songshan Shaolin Scenic Area, which includes the temple, told NBC News connected Wednesday.

“No 1 tin spot him. He deliberately stays retired of nationalist view,” said the employee, who declined to beryllium identified due to the fact that helium was not authorized to talk to the media.

Wembanyama’s team, the Texas-based San Antonio Spurs, posted a video connected Instagram past week of Wembanyama exploring the Great Wall of China — portion helium inactive had his hair.

Wembanyama playing with the San Antonio Spurs successful February.G Fiume / Getty Images file

“@wemby exploring China!” the station said.

One of the idiosyncratic comments underneath said: “looks similar a regular sized span erstwhile Wemby connected it.”

The 2024-25 NBA play ended aboriginal for Wembanyama, 21, owed to heavy vein thrombosis successful his close shoulder, for which helium underwent country successful March, not agelong aft his archetypal quality successful the NBA All-Star Game. At the time, helium was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

The 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year and the No. 1 wide prime successful the 2023 draft, Wembanyama entered the NBA arsenic arguably the top hoops imaginable since LeBron James successful 2003.

Besides the Spurs posting his video, Wembanyama has kept his China travel alternatively low-key, not posting thing astir it connected his ain societal media accounts.

Retreats astatine Shaolin Temple person go progressively fashionable successful caller years with celebrities visiting China. Visits determination usually harvester meditation, kung fu martial arts and Zen Buddhist practices.

YouTuber and live-streamer IShowSpeed visited the aforesaid temple backmost successful March and NBA prima Shaquille O’Neal besides visited successful 2009.