Fans see Spurs' Victor Wembanyama exceed expectations. What they don't see is his work off the court

PARIS (AP) — For all the glowing things said in Paris the past few days about San Antonio phenom Victor Wembanyama, Hall of Famer Tony Parker probably summed matters up more succinctly than anyone.

Asked what the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama can become, Parker didn't hesitate.

“He can be whatever he wants,” said Parker, part of four of San Antonio's five championship teams. “He can be the best. He can be the best player in the NBA.”

Many can see why Parker believes that. It goes beyond the numbers. Parker gets to see what fans can't see, that being how much work Wembanyama puts in behind the scenes.

These are Wembanyama's stats so far this season: 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.9 blocks and 3.7 assists per game. The last player to finish a season with those numbers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a half-century ago.

Now throw in 3-point shooting, which didn't exist 50 years ago, and Wembanyama — who just turned 21 — is putting up stats this season like nobody else in the history of basketball. Unprecedented numbers.

But what should thrill San Antonio fans and be on the radar of fans in every other NBA city: Wembanyama is his own biggest critic and says he will get better.

“I’m not there yet,” Wembanyama said. “I’m still working on it.”

When he entered the league, the big question was about whether his slim frame would be overpowered by heavier NBA defenders. He knows still has to get stronger but based on what he was listed at originally and where he is now — 209 to 235 — that's a 26-pound bulk-up already.

And no, he's not getting overpowered. Quite the contrary.

The sky evidently is not even the limit for Wembanyama, who came into the league as the most highly touted prospect since LeBron James and has exceeded probably even the loftiest expectations. He'll almost certainly be picked as an All-Star for the first time later this week. He's the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner. He'll get MVP votes. All this, in just his second season.

And he is still learning.

“We see something, every day, new on the court that he’s building,” Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said. “I’ve watched him since he was 15 years old and what’s been fascinating is how important that it is to him to continue to grow as a player. And now we’re getting to see it every day.”

Wembanyama can make a steal at one end of the floor, then crossover dribble past a defender and let 3-pointers fly from the logo. His passes are pinpoint. He's the best shot-blocker in the league. He'll reverse-pivot, Eurostep, spin toward the baseline, spin away from the baseline, right-hand, left-hand, whatever it takes to get a shot off.

The Spurs signed Chris Paul — in his 20th NBA season — to be someone that Wembanyama could learn from. And that is indeed happening; Paul and Wembanyama say they talk constantly about matters both on- and off-the-court, the wise sage on one end, the young star on the other.

Thing is, Paul is learning from Wembanyama as well.

Conventional basketball wisdom says the 6-foot point guard would be quarterbacking the pick-and-roll with the towering center. Not anymore. Paul has found himself at times to be the one setting the pick and doing the rolling, something he can't really remember doing before now. Such is the advantage of having a 7-foot-4 teammate with guard skills.

“Vic is so unique,” Paul said. “I think everybody just expects him to dunk because he’s tall and that is not him by any means. He can dribble, he can pass, he can shoot. He does a little bit of everything. And that’s why it’s been so fun to play with Vic.”

Another example: Paul is one of the best thieves in NBA history, someone about to pass Jason Kidd for No. 2 on the league's all-time steals list. It's what Paul does. He goes for steals. Wembanyama has tried to get him to think differently.

“I just don’t know how to not go for steals,” Paul said. "To play with Vic now, guys will dribble into the lane and I’ll reach and get a foul and Vic will just tap me on the shoulder and remind me that he’s back there. His awareness on both ends of the court offensively and defensively is something that you just don’t see all the time.”

After splitting their two games in Paris against Indiana, San Antonio is 20-23 on the season. The Spurs are on the outside looking into the Western Conference playoff picture, but the play-in tournament — and maybe even a top-six seed — are far from out of reach. They're in the mix.

It's a far cry from where they've been in recent years, and it all reminds Buford of how lucky the Spurs are to have Wembanyama.

“Even as a kid, he’s had the attention, the cameras, the microphones, the spotlight on him,” said Mitch Johnson, the acting Spurs coach while Gregg Popovich recovers from a November stroke. “He’s very clear about what he wants and where he wants this to go. He’s very grounded in that.”

Back in May 2019, a few weeks before that year's NBA draft, Buford was on a scouting trip in France and planning to see a prospect named Sekou Doumbouya. Someone then proposed a different idea. That was the start of Wembanyama's journey to San Antonio.

The story, as Buford tells it, goes like this: Claudio Crippa, an international scout for the Spurs, proposed going to see a youth game before checking out Doumbouya. Buford saw Wembanyama play for the first time that day. And the seeds for the Spurs' new master plan were immediately planted.

“We came to watch Victor, and that had a big influence on the way that our leadership and our front office developed a strategy to rebuild our program," Buford said. "The lottery luck (and) the hoop gods were very good to us. But the vision of a prospect like that was clearly impactful in the strategy of our rebuild.”

The strategy included trading DeMar DeRozan in 2021, Derrick White and Dejounte Murray in 2022, then Jakob Poeltl in 2023. Those were not trades that resulted in immediate team improvement. The Spurs suffered through four consecutive losing seasons before getting their biggest win in almost a decade — the May 2023 NBA draft lottery, when the ping-pong ball combination of 14, 5, 8 and 2 gave them the right to pick No. 1 overall.

They're not a playoff team yet and there is no timeline for Popovich's return. But in Wembanyama's second season, the Spurs have legitimate hope of getting to the postseason. And the vision that became so clear to Buford on that day in 2019 is a reality.

“He shows phenomenal maturity for a player that age, not to mention all his skills," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “I mean, he’s a four-level scorer. And defensively, if he’s not defensive player of the year this year I know I’ll be surprised. He’s averaging four blocks a game. So, what a player.”

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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, top, celebrates with forward Keldon Johnson (0) during the second half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, right, and teammates celebrate during the second half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) and Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) get tangled up as they go for a loose ball during the second half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) claps following a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) brings the ball up court under pressure from Indiana Pacers center Thomas Bryant (3) during the second half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half of a Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Paris, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)