Victor Wembanyama has the perfect mentor in Bismack Biyombo

SAN ANTONIO — As the Western Conference finals MVP award sat in Victor Wembanyama’s locker after the San Antonio Spurs advanced to the 2026 NBA Finals, teammate Bismack Biyombo recalled a recent dream he had.

Biyombo, who is in his 15th season as an NBA center, dreamed that Wembanyama had won an MVP award — but it was unclear which one. Biyombo is hoping his dream was actually about Wembanyama winning the 2026 NBA Finals MVP, which would mean the Spurs likely won the championship.

“It happened before we started the Western Conference finals against OKC,” Biyombo told Andscape after the Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals May 30. “This is amazing. God is crazy. In the dream, Victor Wembanyama was sitting in the locker room drinking a beer. I woke up the next morning thinking, ‘That’s a very strange dream, but anyway, who cares?’

“But then I get to the locker room and the first person I saw walk into in the locker room was Vic. I laughed and said, ‘Vic, I had a dream that you won the MVP and we were in the locker room celebrating and drinking beers.’ Who knows? Dreams are dreams sometimes. He was like, ‘I hope it happens.’”

Wembanyama’s dream to win the NBA Finals MVP award became more challenging Wednesday night, when his Spurs lost 105-95 to the New York Knicks in Game 1 at Frost Bank Center.

The 22-year-old struggled in his first NBA Finals game, settling for jumpers in the first half instead of using his 7-foot-4 frame closer to the basket. He had six turnovers and shot 6-for-21 from the field, his worst shooting game of this postseason, and far from the type of performance that earned him third place in regular-season MVP voting.

When asked by Andscape what he is kicking himself the most about in Game 1, Wembanyama said: “Nothing. Obviously, we’ve been down in a series before. Never in the Finals, obviously. But I’m not kicking myself about anything really. I’m not worried the slightest.”

Wembanyama could be leaning on Biyombo after the tough start. The veteran has become a big brother to the All-Star this season, and their shared similarities have helped them bond.

Biyombo, 33, hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While Wembanyama is from France, his father, Victor, is of Congolese descent, his grandmother lived in the Congo, and the basketball star hopes to visit Africa one day. Biyombo and Wembanyama are also the team’s only French-speaking players.

“Obviously, the kid is great and talented,” Biyombo told Andscape about Wembanyama. “He’s an incredible human being, just overall. Very respectful. It speaks a lot about him. I’ve spent time with his dad. You can tell the values he has implemented into his son. …

“He has handled everything that has been thrown at him with great poise and presence. Wemby is Wemby. He’s one of a kind.”

Said Wembanyama: “Bismack, I’ve talked to him about [the DRC]. I’ve asked him about what it’s like to go back to the country as an NBA player. … It’s great to have him here. And one last reason is that it is great to speak French to somebody.”

Biyombo has experience sharing a court with some of the NBA’s best big men past and present since joining the league in 2011. It is not uncommon to see the 6-foot-8, 255-pounder give his 7-foot-4 teammate words of wisdom during the game.

And it’s also not uncommon for Biyombo to step back and allow Wembanyama to figure it out for himself. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was one of those nights.

“You can observe the energy,” Biyombo told Andscape. “There are moments there where you can pick and choose. There are moments when you got to speak to everybody. You have to find a balance of when to rally everybody and be direct with him on how he sees the game. You can tell how the game goes when he needs some words of wisdom, encouragement and things that I see.

“It has been great with Wemby. I’ve played with a lot of superstars, but he has been very receptive to information, critiques. He’s open to that, and then he kind of adjusts to the game. In the second half and going into the fourth quarter [of Game 1], he got more aggressive going to the basket. I didn’t say anything. He figured it out himself. Sometimes he just figures it out himself. It’s about finding the balance of when to be on him and when to let him be.”

At just 22 years old with the potential to be an NBA icon, Wembanyama is making his first of what is expected to be several Finals appearances. For Biyombo, there is more urgency to become a champion, as this could be his last and only opportunity at a championship and the finale of his career.

“It means everything,” Biyombo said about making the Finals. “It’s just trusting God. You keep trying to do things your way and find situations with teams. But the biggest thing is when you sit back and put everything in God’s hands, then he will actually do it his way. And his way is always greater and better.”

At the age of 19, Biyombo was the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings, who dealt his draft rights to the then-Charlotte Bobcats. Biyombo has previously told Andscape he was blessed to have mentors in former NBA players Matt Carroll, Boris Diaw and Eduardo Nájera. Biyombo has been primarily a role player during his journeyman career for Charlotte, Toronto, Orlando, Phoenix, Memphis, Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

During the 2025-26 season, however, Biyombo has career lows in scoring (0.9), rebounding (1.0) and minutes (5.6) per game, as well as games played (25). It’s no secret that his biggest asset is as a veteran locker room presence on a young team, and specifically as a Wemby whisperer.

“Bis, obviously, he’s someone who speaks about Boris Diaw being his vet when he was in Charlotte, and just the do’s and don’ts and whys and why nots of younger players,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said. “And at times, they don’t always maybe understand the whole extent of the why or why not. But if you have someone you trust, especially a player and not a coach, the impact of that is invaluable, and Bis being that for many guys on our team is very impactful.”

The first NBA champion from the Congo was DJ Mbenga, who won back-to-back rings with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010. Former Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka won in 2019. Then-teenager Jonathan Kuminga was present when Ibaka’s championship was celebrated in the Congo. Kuminga, now with the Atlanta Hawks, won a title with the Golden State Warriors in 2022.

It would be meaningful for Biyombo to win an NBA title with the Spurs and bring the Larry O’Brien Memorial Championship trophy to his hometown of Lubumbashi, Congo.

“My wish and desire is to obviously celebrate this,” Biyombo told Andscape. “Whatever happens, I will still be grateful to God, because it’s my Year 15 in the NBA. I came into the league as a kid dreaming of basketball, dreaming about getting to Year 10. And now I’m finishing my Year 15. And I’m grateful.”

If these NBA Finals are indeed Biyombo’s last days in the league, he certainly has reason to be proud of his journey considering the unpaved road from which he came. But Biyombo told Andscape he is not ready to unlace his sneakers in the NBA and would love to return to San Antonio.

“My rookie year, MJ [former Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets owner Michael Jordan] asked me this question before I signed my big deal,” Biyombo said. “’If nobody paid you $1, would you still play basketball and love the process of getting up in the morning and going to the gym?’ I said, ‘Of course. I love basketball. Money is not my priority. I love the game and the process of getting better and competing.’ He said, ‘Well, the day you lose that is the day you step away from the game.’

“I loved basketball this season, especially with this [Spurs] crew. So, can I say this is my last season? No, I don’t think so. The trust this organization has given me to lead these guys is incredible.”

After growing up in poverty and sometimes eating just once a day, Biyombo was recruited to play basketball professionally in Qatar at age 16. Unfortunately, he lacked the proper documentation to make it work. He was next discovered at a youth tournament in Yemen, a country known more for its coffee than basketball prospects. Biyombo’s first professional gig was playing for Spanish fourth-tier Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in Madrid during the 2009-10 season.

Two years later, Biyombo had advanced to play for first-tier Baloncesto Fuenlabrada before accepting an opportunity to be seen by NBA scouts at the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit. The 18-year-old impressed NBA scouts, recording the first triple-double in Hoop Summit history with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks for the World Team playing against other future NBA players, including Anthony Davis and Bradley Beal, for the U.S.

Over the course of his 15-year NBA career, Biyombo has made nearly $100 million, allowing him to help the less fortunate in the Congo through The Bismack Biyombo Foundation. He donated his entire $1.3 million NBA salary this season to construct a major hospital in the Congo in honor of his late father, Francois Biyombo.

His foundation refurbished multiple hospital rooms in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, and he has mobile clinics that provide care to more than 1,000 patients every week. The foundation operates educational academies in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Kivu, enrolling 150 students annually.

The foundation has also built 12 outdoor basketball courts in the Congo and one indoor gym in the city of Goma, hosted 36 summer camps over the past 12 years, and it has served more than 2,000 youth with basketball and life skills training sessions.

“The best way I can use my platform is to speak about what’s happening in the Congo,” Biyombo said. “I’m putting kids in a position where they can actually be seen. Sometimes these kids are actually forgotten.”

The Bismack Biyombo Foundation’s “Changing Lives, Building Futures Gala” was March 20 in San Antonio. Wembanyama was moved by Biyombo’s words when he attended the fundraising art gala and auction.

“It is really inspiring, what Bismack is doing,” Wembanyama said. “We had a chance to see what he was doing over there with the videos of the school. And we had a chance to see an actual student and basketball player that he brought here from his camp and school. And the way they were talking about Bismack was inspiring.

“I didn’t shed a tear. But I could feel a little bit of emotions. So, it’s super inspiring.”

A Finals MVP and NBA title for Wembanyama would certainly lead to some tears from the oft-emotional Spurs star. It would also make Biyombo’s dream come true.

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