NBA star looks unrecognizable with new look as he enters Chinese monastery after injury scare
NBA star Victor Wembanyama is currently in the middle of a retreat at a Chinese monastery where he looks unrecognizable with a shaved head.
The 7-foot-3 Frenchman is in the middle of the 10-day exercise trying to stay as isolated as possible.
Wembanyama can be seen praying in grey robes as well as running alongside a forest.
The San Antonio Spurs sensation appeared in China in one of his first public appearances since his injury scare.
Wembanyama was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in right shoulder in February, ending his season, with the Spurs believing it to be an 'isolated condition.'
A vein thrombosis occurs when blood begins to clot in deeper veins in the body. The issue can become seriously dangerous because those clogs could loosen and end up in the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism.
Wemby is in China beginning his 'journey of inner discipline, focus, and mind-body harmony' at the Shaolin Temple
According to a Buddhist monk, Wemby is on a ''Summer Retreat'' tradition that is tied back to ancient Buddhist practices
(via @SpursGDP, @SpursReporter) pic.twitter.com/zQHNamRh7y
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 11, 2025
NBA star Victor Wembanyama is currently in the middle of a retreat at a Chinese monastery
It is almost always treated with blood-thinning medication, which typically precludes a player from participating in a contact sport such as basketball. Athletes who are involved with contact sports are typically advised to avoid using such medication because of the heightened chance of bleeding.
Wembanyama's injury came just days after first All-Star Game appearance. The 21-year-old Frenchman was the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, as well as an All-Defensive First Team selection after leading the league in blocked shots.
He was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists; the only other player to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
The Spurs are positioned to make a jump with Wembanyama in his third year in the NBA, as he might not be the only superstar on his team come October.
San Antonio is believed to be a major play in the sweepstakes for both Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
22 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Pacers vs Thunder legacy impact: What NBA Finals Game 7 means
If it's the Thunder... Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will go down as having an all-time great season. He will have notched a regular season Most Valuable Player award -- and probable Finals MVP -- and will have led Oklahoma City, which tied for the fifth-most victories in a regular season (68), to its first NBA championship since moving to the city and the franchise's first since 1979, when it was the Seattle SuperSonics. Jalen Williams will emerge as a legitimate star whose Game 5 heroics in a 40-point masterpiece lifted the Thunder. And Mark Daigneault, 40, will reinforce his position as one of the premier coaches in the NBA, leading the second-youngest team to win a Finals in NBA history -- which implies OKC could be in position to repeat. If it's the Pacers... Point guard Tyrese Haliburton will obliterate the "overrated" narrative that has unfairly followed him since The Athletic published a player poll that labeled him the most overrated player in the league. He will wrap an unprecedented run of clutch postseason play with a title. Pascal Siakam will become a two-time champion and see his profile raised further. Rick Carlisle will become just the fourth coach -- joining Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Alex Hannum -- to win championships with two different teams. His status as an innovative and adaptable coach who entrusts his players will be unquestioned after leading the decided underdog Pacers to an NBA title, their first in franchise history. Game 7s in the Finals are special, with this marking just the 20th in history. Just the very nature of the games -- the magnified stakes, the drama -- can define legacies. "Respect isn't something that we can just talk about and receive -- it's an earned thing," Haliburton said in a Saturday, June 21 news conference. "No matter what happens, it's still probably not going to be where necessarily it 'should' be or what we think it should be. "It doesn't really matter, though. I think from our standpoint -- teams we compete against, they respect us. I think that's the most important thing. ... We are in a great, great point right now in our organization's history and for our team specifically. You've got to be really excited about the chance to compete in one game to win a championship." It becomes a very different story with a loss -- for both squads. The Thunder suddenly will be framed as front-runners and Gilgeous-Alexander's greatness and efficiency will likely be overshadowed. Detractors will get louder with their "foul merchant" critiques and almost certainly will say the Thunder got a favorable whistle and still couldn't do anything with it. Similarly, a defeat would likely only strengthen the barbs hurled at Haliburton. Indiana's up-tempo, free-flowing offense may be discounted as a gimmick and an operation -- despite Indy's success this postseason -- not suitable to win when it counts. Critics will likely say the Pacers still need a true star. The reality, however, is that it serves teams no use to consider narrative and legacy before a Game 7. While players and coaches certainly do reap future profits from championship runs, Game 7s are -- in their most distilled terms -- just another game. Forty-eight minutes for a team to top another. The glory cannot come without the actual victory. The secret to success, therefore, likely requires some willful ignorance, some intentional blocking out of the context of the game. "You try to make it as binary as possible," Thunder guard Alex Caruso, a champion with the 2020 Lakers, said Saturday. "You're either going to win or lose. That is literally what's going to happen. The season is going to be over and you're going to be champion, or you're going to lose and start from square one. You might as well go out and put your best forward and compete your (butt) off and play hard for your teammates and try and win."
The Herald Scotland
22 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Kevin Durant traded to Rockets in blockbuster deal: See trade details
The person spoke under the condition of anonymity on Sunday, June 22, because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the trade until it becomes official. Durant is set to enter the final season of his contract. The trade cannot be formalized until July 1, the start of the new league year. ESPN was first to report the news of the trade. Since he won a pair of consecutive NBA championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, Durant has sought another title. His stints with the Brooklyn Nets and Suns didn't elevate either team to serious contention, though his statistical production has remained constant. And, with Durant set to enter the 2025-26 season as a 37-year-old, this may present his last chance to contend for another NBA Finals. This past season, Phoenix missed the play-in window and finished 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-46 record. The Suns dealt with several injuries throughout the season, including an ankle issue Durant sustained toward the end of the regular season that forced him to miss Phoenix's final seven games, six of which were losses. The Suns, who had the highest payroll in the NBA with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal also commanding large salaries, struggled to gel and lacked depth. In an attempt to work through those issues, players often had to change their roles and responsibilities, ultimately costing former coach Mike Budenholzer his job. Despite that, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in 62 appearances. In Durant, the Rockets are acquiring a proven commodity and an elite, three-level scorer who can knock down shots with ease, particularly late in games. This is something that should instantly help Houston, whose offense at times stagnated with no obvious top scoring threat. The No. 2 seed in the Western Conference that was bounced out of the first round of the playoffs, this move should boost Houston's chance to make a deep run in the postseason. With 30,571 career points, Durant ranks eighth on the all-time scoring list and is in real position to climb further; Durant, who scored 1,647 points this season with the Suns, needs just 1,722 points to surpass Michael Jordan (32,292), who is fifth on the list. A four-time scoring champion, two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, 11-time All-NBA selection and the 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player, Durant was selected second overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics (who later became the Oklahoma City Thunder). Durant, a fixture on Team USA, is also a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Thunder's 'SGA' in rare air after Finals MVP prize rounds off remarkable season
June 22 (Reuters) - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander crowned one of the best individual seasons in NBA history by guiding the Oklahoma City Thunder to the league championship and being named the MVP of the Finals after their victory over Indiana in Game 7 on Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander is only the fourth player - and the first since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000 - to earn the scoring title as well as league and Finals MVP honors in the same season. "This isn't just a win for me - this is a win for my family, this is a win for my friends, this is a win for everybody who was in my corner growing up, this is a win for the fans, the best fans in the world," Gilgeous-Alexander said after hoisting the trophy at home in the Paycom Center. The 103-91 win over the Pacers brought the franchise their first title since relocating from Seattle in 2008. It also gave fans exactly what they have been dreaming of since the Los Angeles Clippers traded the promising point guard to Oklahoma City ahead of his sophomore season six years ago. The key figure behind the franchise's rebuild, he lifted the Thunder into the postseason last year after three straight losing seasons before his breathtaking 2024-25 campaign. Averaging 32.7 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor with 6.4 assists and five rebounds per game, the 26-year-old Canadian led the young Thunder team to a 68-14 record, good for the fifth-most wins in an NBA season. "We definitely still have room to grow and that's the fun part of this. So many of us can still get better," Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. "It's not very many of us on the team that are quote-un-quote in our prime - or even close to it. We have a lot of room to grow individually and as a group and I'm excited for the future of this team."
