Victor Wembanyama reveals message to Kevin Durant after gold-medal game

It was all respect, and a bit of brutal honesty, from Victor Wembanyama to Kevin Durant following their gold-medal matchup at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Wembanyama helped France hang tough with Team USA before the Americans pulled away to a 98-87 victory. After the game, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year talked with future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant, whom he revealed is his favorite childhood player.

During an interview with M6 Info , Wembanyama spoke about what he said to Durant following the gold-medal matchup (h/t ClutchPoints ).

"This is my personal childhood favorite," Wembanyama said. "He became my favorite player… I made it clear that I wanted to learn from him (and) perhaps only steal one or two of his secret techniques."

Wembanyama grew up watching some of the league's current best players, including the likes of Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

The fact that he faced his favorite childhood player in such a high-profile game adds to what has been a great first year in the NBA and at the Olympic level for Wembanyama.

Considering Wembanyama's skillset and dominance in year one at the NBA level while only 18-years-old, it's safe to assume there'll be no shortage of future players who idolize the San Antonio Spurs' budding star in the years to come.