Wemby Reveals He Wants to Practice With Rugby Team, Spurs Star Explains Reasoning

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama famously enjoyed an eventful and interesting summer of 2025, and he's now led his team to a breakout 2025-26 campaign that's seen the squad win 62 games and earn the Western Conference's No. 2 seed heading into the playoffs, which start Sunday against the No. 7 seed Portland Trail Blazers.

Wembanyama recently sat down for an interview ahead of the playoffs with ESPN's Malika Andrews, who asked the two-time All-Star "what's next on the bucket list."

"There's some more things," Wembanyama said. "One thing I wanted to do but I didn't do this summer is practice for the rugby team, because it's the same patterns of movement my body's not used to doing, and that can translate to what I do in basketball. It's a very interesting thing."

Wembanyama's 2024-25 season ended abruptly when he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. That diagnosis led to him seeking positive and life-changing opportunities, per ESPN's Michael C. Wright.

"He played soccer in Costa Rica and Tokyo. He famously spent 10 days at a spiritual retreat at a Shaolin temple in Zhenzhou, China, where he studied and trained with monks.

"He hosted a chess and basketball tournament at his court in Le Chesnay, France. He visited NASA's Johnson Space Center, where he learned about astronaut Peggy Whitson, who owns the American record for spending 675 days in space.

Wembanyama also spent time under the tutelage of big men Kevin Garnett (for help with the mental side of basketball) and Hakeem Olajuwon (for his post moves).

He's had some eventful summers since becoming a pro as he also helped lead France's men's national basketball team to silver at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Rugby didn't fit in the 2025 schedule (who can blame him given everything else he did), but perhaps it will in 2026. Until then, Wembanyama is trying to lead San Antonio to its first NBA title since 2014 and sixth overall.