French 7’3” NBA star Victor Wembanyama may have just unlocked a new position: Shaolin monk.
Wembanyama, who ended last season early due to a rare blood clot in his right shoulder appeared to be looking for some off-season spiritual peace and strength at a Shaolin Temple in central China.
A widely circulated image showed the San Antonio Spurs center with a freshly shaven head, sitting pensively in front of small Budda statues inside a room typically used by abbots to receive guests.
Chinese state media reports confirmed on Monday that he was indeed at the temple.
The image, which CNN is unable to trace to its original source, was reposted by multiple Chinese state media outlets and by the NBA’s official account on Chinese social media.
NBA said on its official Weibo page on Monday that “according to reports” Wembanyama has shaved his head and begun a 10-day retreat in the Shaolin Temple.
In a separate video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, a bystander spotted the towering basketball player at the temple.
The 1,500-year-old monastery, nestled deep in the forested mountains of central China’s Henan province, is known for Zen Buddhism and the Chinese martial art of kung fu.
Retreats at the temple focus on discipline, meditation and inner harmony and aim to help disconnect from real-world distractions.
The 21-year-old Wembanyama – a 2024-25 NBA All-star and 2023-24 Rookie of the Year, just went through a tough season.
He had been out since February following a rare deep vein thrombosis diagnosis and several weeks later the Spurs were officially eliminated from playoffs.
Wembanyama seemingly wanted to stay low-key on his journey at the monastery.
The Frenchman has not yet posted anything about it on social media. On Monday, the Shaolin Temple, told CNN “We are not aware of this” when asked about Wembanyama staying there.
But a state-owned outlet of Henan province, where the temple is located, reportedly learned from people at the temple that “Wembanyama is indeed currently in the Shaolin Temple, but the relevant matters are not convenient to be disclosed to the public”.
Right before the spiritual tour, the French basketballer spent a couple of fun days in Beijing. Locals spotted him shopping, playing basketball, walking in a park, and even visiting the Great Wall, as shown in their social media footage.
The San Antonio Spurs on Friday shared a video on Instagram of Wembanyama as he visited the Great Wall of China in Beijing.
“It’s Victor Wembanyama. Life in China on the Great Wall itself, having an amazing time. It’s crazy,” he said.
The Shaolin temple often attracts well known figures. Prominent US YouTuber IShowSpeed visited to the same temple back in March, training with a kung fu master and generating millions of views on his social media accounts.
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