Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama's transformative summer: Shaolin training and the 'Dream Shake'

Victor Wembanyama, the 21-year-old superstar of the San Antonio Spurs, has undergone a secret summer transformation aimed at completely breaking down physical and mental boundaries. The 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year, following his recovery from deep vein thrombosis, embarked on a journey where he trained with Shaolin monks and honed his game under the mentorship of legendary big man Hakeem Olajuwon.

The summer that changed Wembanyama

Sources close to Wembanyama indicate that the deep vein thrombosis diagnosed in his right shoulder—a condition both career- and life-threatening—deeply affected the young player. This experience sparked a "journey to push himself to be great physically and mentally with things that were outside the box."

During the summer, in addition to regular workouts, Wembanyama:

• played soccer in Costa Rica and Tokyo;

• spent ten days at a Shaolin temple in China, where he studied and trained with monks;

• hosted a chess and basketball tournament;

• visited NASA's Johnson Space Center.

"The traumatic experience ... is very much linked to all the stuff I've done in the summer," Wembanyama said. "Spending so much time in hospitals, around doctors and hearing more bad news that I wish I hadn't heard, of course, it is traumatic. But in the long run I think it's going to be very beneficial because even though I don't wish it on [anybody], it makes you understand lessons that nothing else could have made you understand."

Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson says he's never witnessed such perspective or curiosity from a player so young. "It's constantly trying to push himself out of his comfort zone and learn new things."

Shaolin secrets and the 4:30 AM wake-up call

Wembanyama traveled to a historic Shaolin temple, founded in the 5th century, where for ten days he immersed himself in Chan meditation and Shaolin Kung Fu. The Spurs brass fully supported the player's quest for "unusual stress," aiming to increase his range of motion and add strength, flexibility, and balance.

He woke up at 4:30 a.m. every day, ate vegetarian meals (zucchini and rice noodles), and trained his mind through meditation that emphasizes direct experience. Wembanyama shaved his head and focused entirely on spiritual and physical development.

Those who have seen Wembanyama work out this summer confirm that the French star has become stronger and more controlled when playing through physicality, all while increasingly mastering his unprecedented skillset.

Olajuwon, the 'Dream' mentor

The pinnacle of Wembanyama's summer was meeting with one of the game's all-time icons, Hakeem Olajuwon, whom he personally sought out in April. Olajuwon—who has previously mentored stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant—hosted the young phenom at his secretive training ranch near Houston.

The joint workouts focused not on classic "center moves" but on positioning Wembanyama as a "big guard."

"Our concept was not for 'big men.' Our concept was 'big guards.' You don't want to dribble like a big man," Olajuwon said. "We are big guards where you can play 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 with the freedom to create outside, inside, crossover and pull up."

During the four, two-and-a-half-hour workouts, Wembanyama developed his own variation of the Hall of Famer's "Dream Shake," along with other tightly-wound spin moves that could leave opponents dizzy this season. Olajuwon also highlighted Wemby's new jump hook as a weapon that opponents will be unable to counter.

Teammate Jeremy Sochan says he has already witnessed the evolution: "You see how hard he works and how motivated he is... I think you guys are going to see a lot that's going to shock you."

Wembanyama, for his part, credits his most unusual offseason. "I can assure you nobody has trained like I did this summer," he stated. "I think I've maxed out what I could do in one summer. Now, I need to play basketball."

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