While in Paris, Wembanyama has chosen to focus on engaging with French media to help connect with the French audience. His three exclusive interviews were all with French companies, including Picsou Magazine — a children’s magazine he used to read when he was younger.

Thursday's game was proof of concept. Wembanyama will soon be the NBA's signature star, and sending him to Paris for a few games every year is a chance to build one of these signature events around his growing fame and eagerness to please his hometown audience. His presence made all of the difference on Thursday.

To go along with a 140-110 win, the 7'3" 21-year-old center was a highlight reel machine. In 32 minutes of play, Wembanyama pulled off a self-alley-oop from just inside the free-throw line, dished out another to his teammate Jeremy Sochan, played lock-down defense, and was the Spurs' leading scorer on the afternoon.