Victor Vinban Yama is in China, and it is not all for vacation.
The San Antonio Spurs star is in Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, China and is expected to stay here for a 10-day stay. The temple welcomes visitors to study meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and other related cultures.
NBA China Office confirmed that Wenban Yama was in the temple, and some Chinese media also confirmed his arrival to the temple. A social media post on the NBA's official Weibo account reads: "Focus on training!", which also revealed the 10-day stay plan.
Nevertheless, this secret is gradually leaking through other social media channels anyway.
This week, some photos of Wenban Yama shaved her head (his hair was not shaved when he arrived in China) and wearing robes similar to other monks began to circulate widely on social media. One of the photos shows the 7-foot-4-inch center standing on a Chinese-style chair with multiple Buddha statues placed in front of it.
Apparently, some sightseeing activities were also conducted earlier in the itinerary.
"Victor Vinban Yama, who is on the scene in China, is on the Great Wall, has a wonderful time. It's crazy," he said in a video posted to Instagram by the Spurs and other accounts.
Venban Yama is expected to return to the United States in the coming weeks and may join the Spurs' delegation to the NBA Summer League next month. Like many teams, the Spurs usually have multiple players from their NBA roster attend various events with the Summer League team.
The 21-year-old Frenchman leads the NBA block in the regular season, although his season ends in February—just after his first All-Star game—becauses a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The Spurs hope he will play at the start of next season, and the French national team has expressed their desire to play for the national team in this summer's European Basketball Championship.
Venban Yama was last season's league rookie of the year and is widely regarded as one of the leaders in the season's Defensive Player of the Year award. He tried 403 three-pointers this season and completed 176 blocks - no player in NBA history has ever handed over such data in a single season - and before the deep vein thrombosis was detected, he averaged 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists per game.
The only player in NBA history who has reached these values in a single season averaged data across these numbers is Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the 1975-76 season.