The lifetime of an NBA famous person is one thing many individuals who’ve ever picked up a basketball have dreamed of — taking part in the recreation at the highest degree, the fame and standing that include it, and all the privileges of being a skilled athlete. However, in the center of a grueling season, fixed media obligations, and the weight of inner and exterior expectations, there inevitably comes a level of mental burnout.
In these moments, gamers flip to numerous methods to escape the strain. Some discover aid via video video games, books, music, or time with family members, whereas others, like Victor Wembanyama, flip to chess, utilizing it as a mental refuge and a approach to reset away from the noise of the season.
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“I figure it’s like hitting two birds with one stone. Sometimes you just need to get away,” he told ESPN. “You don’t have the focus needed to read or the focus needed to study something, so chess is good in that sense.”
More and extra NBA stars are utilizing chess as an escape from the outdoors noise
Chess isn’t often one thing you hear related to NBA superstars of Wembanyama’s caliber. However, even during his sophomore season, he made headlines when he determined to have interaction with followers in a very distinctive approach during the San Antonio Spurs‘ go to to New York.
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The French phenom posted a tweet calling for followers to meet him at the SW nook of Washington Square Park to play chess, and ended up taking part in with random followers, giving them a as soon as-in-a-lifetime expertise going through a potential future face of the league.
That second solely bolstered the mystique that has surrounded Wembanyama ever since he stepped into the NBA highlight — a participant for whom expectations for gamers of his stature are all the time extraordinarily excessive.
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That similar French class and composure he shows on the courtroom clearly extends to his off-courtroom mentality, permitting Victor to stay poised and grounded via the grind of a lengthy, demanding NBA season.
Chess seems to have labored completely for the 7-foot-4 middle, who’s coming off a profession season, averaging 25.0 factors, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and three.1 blocks whereas capturing 51.2 p.c from the area.
Along the approach, Wemby strengthened his MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidacy, led the league in blocks, and guided the Spurs to the NBA Cup Final and a second-place end in the Western Conference with a 62–20 document, marking their first 60-win season in a decade.
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We all know, even via the “examples” of on a regular basis lifetime of “ordinary” individuals, how a lot, in a random week crammed with strain and obligations, we need that type of launch valve, one thing that can, even briefly, take our minds off the noise and allow us to breathe.
However, chess appears to be rising in reputation amongst league’s largest stars, with Wembanyama’s French NT teammate Rudy Gobert additionally talking about its advantages.
“When you’re just sitting, and you’re just playing chess, you don’t have to do anything else but focus on the board,” Gobert informed ESPN. “But when you actually start to get some fatigue, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, I think it’s harder to make right decisions, so it kind of challenges you even more.”
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Wemby is conserving his thoughts sharp forward of the playoffs
That brings us to the key level of the story. A participant attaining each crew and particular person success this early in his profession, at just 22 years previous, may simply depend on many different methods to escape strain.
However, the best gamers are continually searching for new challenges, which retains them sharp and mentally robust when it issues most.
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And just like the legendary Lenny Kravitz echoes in his timeless hit “Fly Away”, typically we have now to “get away”, break away, disappear for a second, and in that sense, Wembanyama isn’t any completely different from the remainder of us, regardless of how flawless his life could seem from the outdoors trying in.
While he could have already mastered basketball, what lies forward is the continued sharpening of Vic’s thoughts, and chess has quietly turn into one in all the instruments guiding him alongside that path.
Related: Victor Wembanyama admits he is expecting to make history in the 2026 NBA awards race
This story was initially printed by Basketball Network on Apr 13, 2026, the place it first appeared in the Off The Court part. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
