NBA: Victor Wembanyama inspires San Antonio Spurs to victory against Indiana Pacers in Paris
Victor Wembanyama inspired the San Antonio Spurs to a 140-110 victory against the Indiana Pacers at the Accor Arena in Paris.
In the first of two NBA regular-season games played in Paris this week, the Spurs broke form thanks to France’s Vembanyama, who scored a career-high 30 points.
Vembanjama, 21, played for the Paris Metropolitans 92 before being selected by the Spurs with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
He was playing in his home country for the first time since winning the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is the fourth year that the NBA has played regular games in Paris, with Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets in 2024.
As is often the case when the NBA hits the road in Europe, many high-profile faces turned up to watch, including injured Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo, Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembele and Presnel Kimpembe and Barcelona trio Pedri, Ferran Torres and Eric Garcia.
Former French internationals Robert Pires and Djibril Cisse and UFC fighter Cyril Gane were also in attendance along with former French prime ministers Gabriel Atal and Lionel Jospin.
The Spurs were the underdogs going into the match having lost six of their eight games in 2025, while the Pacers entered the court with eight wins from nine since the start of the year.
However, the return to home soil played a huge role as Vembanyama produced their best performance in eight games.
San Antonio’s Devin Vassell also chipped in with 25 points and Harrison Barnes added 20 to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Spurs, who are 12th in the Western Conference, and the Pacers, who are fifth in the East, meet again at Akor Arena on Saturday (17:00 GMT).
2025-01-23 22:14:00
