Fans Want in On Victor Wembanayama’s Book Club

Fans of San Antonio Spurs star center-power forward Victor Wembanyama already know what a beast he is on the basketball court, known for his impressive ability to both block shots and handle the ball like a boss. But you may not know that the 7-foot Frenchman is also an avid reader who shares his love of books with one of his NBA teammates.

When they’re not battling the New York Knicks for the NBA championship, Wemby and Spurs forward Harrison Barnes have joined forces off the court to start a book club. In a social media post from the NBA account, Barnes confirmed that he and Wemby enjoy reading many of the same books, including novels by fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson (although Wemby reads in both French and English). Barnes said the pair is currently tackling the George Orwell classic “1984,” although Wemby is a lot further along in the book.

“He’s like 300 pages ahead of me,” he said. For those who still have PTSD after reading the book in school, you know that means Wemby is almost finished with the 320-something page dystopian novel.

Barnes went on to spill a little tea about the club, admitting that he and Wemby haven’t been able to recruit many members to read with them.

“We’ve had some people that have received books, who I won’t say and, have not ready them,” he dished.

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While few Spurs players are jumping at the chance to hit the books, fans on social media loved the idea, as many asked how they could get an invite to this super-exclusive Spurs’ literary hangout.

“I wanna join the book club!!! Where can I sign up???” wrote someone on TikTok.

Others commended the players for setting a positive example for their young fans.

“These are the type of role models needed and other than stats it would be cool if kids knew this fact,” wrote someone else on the app.

We don’t know if Wemby and Barnes have plans to make their reading list public, but there are other ways that fans can get in on the literary action. The San Antonio Public Library is encouraging readers to explore more books with its“Read Like Wemby” campaign. The library’s official website includes a reading list with titles inspired by Wembanyama’s love for science fiction and history, including Stephen King’s “The Outsider” and N.K. Jemisin’s “The World We Make.”