{"id":1961008,"date":"2026-05-29T00:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1961008"},"modified":"2026-05-29T00:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:08:06","slug":"victor-wembanyama-wears-shaolin-robe-to-game-6-vs-thunder-in-homage-to-summer-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1961008","title":{"rendered":"Victor Wembanyama wears Shaolin robe to Game 6 vs. Thunder in homage to summer training"},"content":{"rendered":"
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San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama walked into a win-or-go-home Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder dressed in a green Shaolin robe, in an apparent nod to a well-documented period in his offseason training.<\/p>\n

As reported by The Athletic <\/em>and other outlets<\/a>, Wembanyama spent time training at a Shaolin temple in China to learn how to foster greater spiritual synergy between his mind and body. His choice of pre-game attire seemed to invoke those teachings he explored over the summer as his Spurs attempt to stave off elimination in Game 6.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI like today,\u201d said NBC analyst Tracy McGrady, who criticized Wembanyama\u2019s Game 5 performance in a Spurs loss. \u201cHe kinda took that mindset back to how he came into the summer, how he\u2019s getting ready for the season, Shaolin monks. I love it. He\u2019s locked it, he\u2019s focused.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Watch Thunder (3-2) Spurs Western Conference Finals Game 6 at 8:30pm\/et on NBC and Peacock! pic.twitter.com\/PXQVeEkWwy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Wembanyama reportedly dribbled a basketball up a mountain and stretched his range of motion during his visit, but his time there was spent honing mental aspects as well. The Spurs center shaved his head and learned meditation practices while immersing himself in the Shaolin monastery.<\/p>\n

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{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great experience,\u201d Wembanyama said last June.<\/a> \u201cMy goal going there was putting my body through things that it\u2019s not used to doing and allowing my range of movement and strength. This was probably as very different as possible from what I\u2019m used to doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wembanyama struggled in the Spurs\u2019 Game 5 loss, shooting 4 of 15 from the field. He did not speak to reporters after the game, drawing a warning from the league the next day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s shocking because in Games 1 and 4, he was (great),\u201d McGrady said after Game 5. \u201cWhen you\u2019re coming into a game, with what\u2019s at stake, I expected a legendary performance, a historic performance. In the first quarter, it just seemed like he was tired, lethargic, didn\u2019t have the energy (the Thunder) possessed that he should have come out with in Game 5.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game 6 will be Wembanyama\u2019s chance at redemption. In San Antonio\u2019s two wins in this series, Wembanyama averaged 37 points per game. In the three losses, he averaged just 22.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s all about how you wake up in the morning, and you prepare yourself to go to work for the day,\u201d fellow panelist Vince Carter said later on NBC\u2019s pregame show Thursday. \u201cI think the way he dressed, the way he prepared himself, the way he walked in, is the start of his preparation for the game. I think that\u2019s the start of fixing the problem. \u2018Let me find something that worked for me and will motivate me to get ready for this.’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama walked into a win-or-go-home Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder dressed in a green Shaolin robe, in an apparent nod to a well-documented period in his offseason training. As reported by The Athletic and other outlets, Wembanyama spent time training at a Shaolin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1961008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1961008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961008\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1961008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1961008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1961008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}