Victor Wembanyama trains with Provence Rugby to enhance NBA performance

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has spent a week training with the French rugby club Provence Rugby in Aix-en-Provence. The 22-year-old NBA center participated in several preseason workshops and daily routines alongside the professional Pro D2 squad to enhance his athletic repertoire.

Wembanyama, accompanied by Spurs teammate Harrison Barnes, conducted the training sessions with high levels of discretion to avoid media scrutiny and large crowds at the training center. The athlete has previously expressed interest in rugby as a way to develop new movement patterns, spatial awareness, and core stability that can be applied to his basketball performance.

This cross-training initiative follows Wembanyama’s previous offseason efforts to diversify his physical and mental preparation, which included training at the Shaolin Temple to study Kung Fu. The player aims to use the multi-directional demands and physical leverage of rugby to further refine his elite physiology ahead of the upcoming NBA season.