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.

The Spurs superstar understands the responsibilities and immense spotlight he's under, yet still makes it a priority to take his team to dinner.

The Pacers are in Paris because someone has to be the opponent to French phenom Victor Wembanyama, but they're getting everything out of the trip.

Wembanyama was born and raised in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, a western Paris suburb, and has made it a focus this week to introduce his teammates to Parisian culture and the life he led before he became the NBA Rookie of the Year and likely next face of the league.

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.

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

The teams arrived in Paris on Monday, with practices and other events scheduled throughout the week and then the games toward the end. The Spurs were coming straight from the airport to a light workout in Nanterre — the place where Wembanyama started his pro career in the French league as a 15-year-old.

The high octane glitz of NBA basketball will descend on Paris on Thursday night as the San Antonio Spurs - who feature the French star Victor Wembanyama - take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two regular season games.