The main events start Thursday when Wembanyama and the Spurs take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two games in Paris. The rematch is Saturday, both happening at Accor Arena, the same building where Wembanyama played in the knockout round of the Paris Olympics last summer when he and France wound up losing to the U.S. in the gold-medal game.

Victor Wembanyama will take to the court in Paris on Thursday with the San Antonio Spurs in front of an adoring home crowd, having gone from the French league to global stardom.

Before the Spurs drafted Wembanyama No. 1 in 2023, they selected a Frenchman named Tony Parker with the No. 28 pick in 2001.