What is Victor Wembanyama's Net Worth and Salary?
Victor Wembanyama is a professional basketball player who has a net worth of $10 million. In June 2023 Victor Wembanyama was drafted by the NBA's San Antonio Spurs as the #1 pick of the NBA draft. Previously, he played in his native France for Nanterre 92, ASVEL, and Metropolitans 92. Wembanyama has also played with the French national team, having won silver medals at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship and the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
Contracts and Salary
Soon after being drafted as the #1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama signed a 4-year $55 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs. Wembanyama will make about $12.1 million during his rookie season, $12.7 million in year two, and $13.3 million in year three and $16.8 million in season four.
Height and Wingspan
Victor Wembanyama's height is 7 foot 3.5 inches. He has an 8 foot wingspan.
Early Life
Victor Wembanyama was born on January 4, 2004 in Le Chesnay, France to Elodie, a basketball coach and former player, and Félix, a former track and field athlete. He has an older sister named Eve and a younger brother named Oscar, both of whom also became athletes. The kids have Congolese ancestry through their father. Before getting into basketball, Wembanyama played football and did judo. Inspired by his mother, he began playing basketball for Entente Le Chesnay Versailles when he was seven, and later entered the youth system of the professional club Nanterre 92 when he was ten. At the age of 14, Wembanyama was loaned to FC Barcelona to play in the under-14 football tournament Minicopa del Rey, where he helped lead his team to a third-place finish. He subsequently declined an offer to continue his career with Barcelona.
Nanterre 92
Having previously played in the youth system of Nanterre 92, Wembanyama joined the senior team in 2019. He made his professional debut in late October in the EuroCup, playing 31 seconds against Brescia. Early in 2020, Wembanyama played for Nanterre's under-18 team at the Kaunas qualifying tournament for the Adidas Next Generation Tournament. He finished with averages of 15.8 points and 12 rebounds per game, and led the tournament in blocks. During the 2020-21 season, Wembanyama divided his time between Nanterre's under-21 and senior teams, and also signed an agreement to play for the Nationale Masculine 1's Centre Fédéral. In September of 2020, he made his LNB Pro A debut in a game against JL Bourg. A few months later, Wembanyama suffered a stress fracture in his fibula that ended up sidelining him for two-and-a-half months. Upon his return, he began receiving more playing time with Nanterre's senior team, and in May of 2021 recorded season-highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Orléans Loiret. For his season, Wembanyama won the LNB Pro A Best Young Player Award.
ASVEL
In the summer of 2021, Wembanyama signed a three-year deal with ASVEL. On the first of October, he made his EuroLeague debut in a win over Žalgiris. Wembanyama didn't play much over the subsequent months due to injuries. He made his return in February, and in early April recorded a season high of 25 points in a victory over Le Portel. Wembanyama was later ruled out for the remainder of the season in early June due to a muscle injury. While he was out, ASVEL won its third consecutive Pro A championship. Even with his truncated season, Wembanyama won another Pro A Best Young Player Award. He subsequently chose to opt out of his contract with ASVEL.
Metropolitans 92
Wembanyama signed a two-year contract with the LNB Pro A's Metropolitans 92 in early July of 2022. That October, he rose to recognition in the United States during two exhibition games against the NBA G League Ignite in Las Vegas, which had hundreds of scouts and NBA executives in attendance. In the first game, Wembanyama recorded 37 points and five blocks in a loss; in the second game, he scored 36 points in a win. Because of the popularity of the games, and Wembanyama in particular, the NBA announced that it would stream all Metropolitans 92 regular-season and playoff games during the 2022-23 Pro A season. Wembanyama went on to dominate that season, leading the Pro A in points, rebounds, and blocks, and winning the LNB Pro A MVP Award as the youngest-ever recipient of the honor. In the playoffs, he led Metropolitans 92 to the Finals, where they were swept by AS Monaco.
(Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
San Antonio Spurs
Regarded as one of the top basketball prospects of his generation, Wembanyama was chosen first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. In the process, he made history as the first French player ever to be drafted with the first overall pick in the NBA, and only the second European player to do so, after Andrea Bargnani in 2006.
National Team Career
Wembanyama began his national team career representing France at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship in Italy. With averages of nine points, 9.6 rebounds, and a tournament-leading 5.3 blocks per game, he helped lead France to a silver medal. Wembanyama led France to another silver at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia. In that tournament, he recorded 5.7 blocks per game, which was a new FIBA record for blocks per game in a single tournament. Following his time on the junior national team, Wembanyama debuted with the senior team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Player Profile
Standing at close to seven-and-a-half feet, Wembanyama entered the NBA as the tallest active player in the league. He is known for his outstanding mobility and grace, especially considering his size, as well as for his prodigious shot-blocking abilities. Wembanyama has been compared to such legendary NBA players as Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Britney Spears Incident
In July 2023, as Victor was walking through a casino in Las Vegas, pop singer Britney Spears spotted his entourage and ran up to say hello. According to Spears, she ran up and tapped him on the back just to say hi, and as she did that a security guard back-slapped her in the face. Spears began yelling at the entourage and the story quickly went viral.
