Why is an NBA superstar training with monks in China?

When most NBA players were busy spending their offseason refining jump shots or adding muscle in elite training facilities, Victor Wembanyama chose to find inner peace. The San Antonio Spurs star travelled far east to China to train with Shaolin monks and learn martial arts, meditation, endurance, and spiritual discipline.

The unusual setting quickly became one of basketball’s most fascinating stories. Shaolin master Yan’an Has spoke with ESPN, and on his initial interactions with Wembanyama, he said:

"I told him: You play basketball, and I do kung fu. If you want to be great, you have to do things that other people can't do. There are two parts to climbing the mountain. The daytime is for your body. Your endurance, your strength. The nighttime is for your mind. Your awareness."

The 7-foot-4 supernova went through challenges that tested his body and mind. Rather than only improving his athletic performance, Victor Wembanyama wanted a more holistic improvement, which included building endurance, awareness, balance, and mental clarity.

Wembanyama lived in the monastery like a monk and followed all the strict routines, practiced kung fu, meditated, and adopted the temple’s disciplined lifestyle. His day started at 4:30 a.m. with forest runs, balance drills, uphill sprints, frog jumps, and one-legged exercises on uneven terrain.

The drill aimed to improve his coordination and stamina. He even learned the Shaolin “13 Fist Form” to develop balance, efficient movement, and striking mechanics.

His most remarkable routine was dribbling a basketball while climbing a dangerous mountain route through the Song Mountains. The trail had more than 2,500 feet of elevation and would take an average person seven to eight hours to complete. The two-time NBA All-Star completed it in four and a half hours.

While this kind of training was something he tried in the offseason, his actual NBA training routine is different.

Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Training Routine

Victor Wembanyama's NBA training routine has a unique quality to it. The French player doesn't focus on how much weight he lifts, but on the range of motion he gets through each rep.

Per Men's Health, his trainer, Melvin Sanders, makes him focus on movements like transverse lunges, RDLs, and isometric holds with kettlebells.

"There are very few bodies similar to mine to look up to," Victor Wembanyama says. “So it's been a lot of experimenting... my philosophy all along has been to do things and to grow organically."

Instead of back squats with a lot of weight, which "doesn't make sense" for Wembanyama's frame, the Spurs star does front squats, lunges, step-ups, and depth jumps.

One of his favorite exercises is the deadlift, and he used to do eight reps with 120 kg (about 265 pounds) on a trap bar. Handstands and pullups are a personal favorite of the 22-year-old, even though he maxes out at four pullups.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Yask Kotak