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\n\tVictor Wembanyama is much more than a transcendant basketball star. In the hours leading up to a decisive Game 3 victory in the 2026 NBA Finals\u2014the first such game in New York City in 25 years\u2014the 7-Foot-4 Frenchman spent the afternoon in Gramercy sketching. <\/p>\n
\n\tAs seen in a viral video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Wembanyama and his sister Eve, who also plays professional basketball, but in Europe, were spotted in Gramercy Park, one of just two private parks in New York City, sketching a statue of Edwin Booth, the 19th-century Shakespearean actor whose brother, John Wilkes, cemented his place in history by assassinating President Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n
\n\tEdwin\u2019s statue, depicting him as Hamlet, was sculpted by artist Edmond Thomas Quinn, a Gilded age artist with pieces in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum. Edwin founded the Players Club on Gramercy Park South, which commissioned the statue as a tribute in 1918, around 25 years after his death.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s not clear how Wembanyama got into the private park, which famously provides keys only to those who live around it, though one imagines that a world-famous basketball player with an 8-foot wingspan can pull a few strings.<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter the San Antonio Spurs secured the 115-111 nailbiter victory against the New York Knicks, Wembanyama was asked about his drawing excursion. His review of his drawing?<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNot bad. Pretty good,\u201d Wembanyama said, smiling. He had more than drawing to smile about: in Game 3\u2019s victory, the French star put together his most complete performance of the series, totaling 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks.<\/p>\n
\n\tFor the Knicks fans among us, let\u2019s hope he doesn\u2019t find another status to sketch ahead of Wednesday\u2019s critical Game 4, again at Madison Square Garden at 8:30 p.m. Knicks lead the series 2-1.<\/p>\n