NEW YORK – San Antonio Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama met Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady on Tuesday night in the Big Apple.
According to report on The Athletic, the two met over dinner in New York City, one night before the Spurs play the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
“We pretty much ran into each other,” Wembanyama said about the meet up with Brady to reporters during Wednesday morning shootaround. The Athletic said the dinner was put on by billionaire and Fanatics co-owner Michael Rubin, who counts both famous athletes as clients.
Wemby said he was impressed with who many call the greatest quarterback of all time.
“I really like the vibe from him. Very humble and interesting. But also interested in knowing people,” he said. “It really feels good to see people successful, but happy people. It looks like he’s just just happy with the life he’s got. Just makes other people around happy.”
Wembanyama said while he only knows “a little bit” about American football, he knows who Tom Brady is “for sure.”
When asked by reporters about his initial thoughts about Madison Square Garden, the Spurs rookie said the venue is “pretty incredible. It wasn’t as big as I expected, but still the vibe is here. I’ve heard from so many people that this is the best basketball, you know, gym in the world. And I’m just, you know, I’m eager to find out. I’m definitely expecting some good team and individual performances.”
Wembanyama came into the NBA with all kinds of expectations due to his unique basketball skills for a 7 foot 4 player. He can do it all: Block shots, hit 3-pointers, run a fast break, which leads to clichés for nicknames like “unicorn.”
“That nickname has been used over and over, so I’m not really a big fan of it,” he said. “Just like Lebron (James) said, “Everybody’s been a unicorn. It’s just one alien, right?