Victor Wembanyama, Spurs

Wembanyama played football as a goalkeeper and practised judo before focusing on basketball.^[9] He learned to play basketball from his mother, who was coaching youth teams. At age seven, Wembanyama began playing for Entente Le Chesnay Versailles, before joining the youth system of Nanterre 92 at age 10. He drew the attention of Nanterre in 2013 after Michaël Allard, a youth coach for the club, noticed him on the bench at an under-11 game due to his exceptional height, at 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in), initially mistaking him for a coach. In February 2018, Wembanyama was loaned to FC Barcelona for the Minicopa del Rey, an under-14 tournament in Spain, leading his team to third place.^[20] He declined an offer to continue his career with Barcelona, citing that the coaches were not willing to challenge him.