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Wemby celebrated the Game 1 thriller with an epic anime-inspired celebration
Victor Wembanyama celebrated the San Antonio Spurs‘ double-overtime Game 1 win over the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals with a tribute to a famous anime.
Following his stat-stuffing performance, in which he recorded a playoff career-high 41 points and 24 rebounds, Wembanyama was shown mimicking a transformation into a titan inspired by the popular anime Attack on Titan.
In the anime, the series’ protagonist, Eren Yeager, bites his hand, as Wemby demonstrated, to draw blood and transform into a Titan. While in Titan form, Yeager possesses superhuman strength, stamina and durability.
During his epic showdown against former No. 1 pick Chet Holmgren, Wembanyama flashed all three aforementioned traits.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson lauded Wemby’s impressive Game 1 showing: “His level of physicality and execution through physicality was tremendous. His rebounding obviously showed in the box score, but what was off the charts was that defensively, he was in his stance almost all night. That’s 49 big minutes. And it was high-level for the majority of those.”
With DPOY finalist Holmgren as the primary defender, the Spurs All-Star scored a playoff career-high 41 points. Wemby scored from all three levels, including a poster dunk and clutch half-court three-pointer.
GettyWemby set a new playoff career-high in Game 1 against the Thunder
Wemby, who stands 7-foot-5, is no stranger to leaving people in awe. But his 41-point, 24-rebound playoff double-double in Game 1 was a strong reminder of how immensely high his ceiling is.
Because of his otherworldly size, Wemby often looks like a man amongst boys on the court. Or, as the Spurs star sees it, a Titan amongst humanity.
After the game, Wemby was captured celebrating the Game 1 win with an Attack on Titan tribute.
Anime and basketball fans alike shared their approval on social media.
“I didn’t even like Attack on Titan like that, but the 7’6” French Titan Victor Wembanyama hitting the Eren Jaeger / Attack Titan hand-bite celebration in the tunnel after crushing OKC at home in 2OT might be the hardest NBA celly I’ve seen in my life,” said a Twitch affiliate.
“Wemby is Colossal Titan confirmed,” a Reddit user joked.
“Vic doing the Eren bite when he’s already a Titan,” another commented.
“Wemby as a Titan would be the scariest Titan ever,” a user stated on X.
During a 2024 exclusive interview with French YouTuber Hugo Décrypte, Wemby admitted that Attack on Titan is his favorite anime series. In fact, he claimed that it is his favorite series in general behind a hit HBO show.
“My favorite show is Game of Thrones. Attack on Titan is my second favorite. One thing I love about Attack on Titan is you can tell the author is always one or two steps ahead of you,” Wemby said.
His adoration for anime isn’t limited to Attack on Titan, either.
In 2024, Wembanyama dressed up as No Face (Kaonashi) from the iconic anime movie Spirited Away for Halloween.
It’s unclear when Wemby began using the Attack on Titan-inspired celebration, but it is now among the coolest in sports.
Jalyn Smoot Jalyn Smoot is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has nearly 10 years of experience in local and national media, including print and digital. He previously covered the Texas Rangers for MLB.com and the Philadelphia 76ers for Metro Philadelphia. Smoot is a St. Louis born writer that now resides in Dallas. More about Jalyn Smoot
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