"Sometimes you just need to get away" - Wemby shares that chess provides him a much-needed mental reset during the NBA season - Ubirata Online News

The life of an NBA superstar is something many people who have ever picked up a basketball have dreamed of — playing the game at the highest level, the fame and status that come with it, and all the privileges of being a professional athlete. However, in the middle of a grueling season, constant media obligations, and the weight of internal and external expectations, there inevitably comes a point of mental burnout.

In those moments, players turn to various ways to escape the pressure. Some find relief through video games, books, music, or time with loved ones, while others, like Victor Wembanyama, turn to chess, using it as a mental refuge and a way to reset away from the noise of the season.

“I figure it’s like hitting two birds with one stone. Sometimes you just need to get away,” he told ESPN. “You don’t have the focus needed to read or the focus needed to study something, so chess is good in that sense.”

More and more NBA stars are using chess as an escape from the outside noise

Chess is not usually something you hear associated with NBA superstars of Wembanyama’s caliber. However, even during his sophomore season, he made headlines when he decided to engage with fans in a very unique way during the San Antonio Spurs‘ visit to New York.

The French phenom posted a tweet calling for fans to meet him at the SW corner of Washington Square Park to play chess, and ended up playing with random fans, giving them a once-in-a-lifetime experience facing a potential future face of the league.

That moment only reinforced the mystique that has surrounded Wembanyama ever since he stepped into the NBA spotlight — a player for whom expectations for players of his stature are always extremely high.

That same French elegance and composure he displays on the court clearly extends to his off-court mentality, allowing Victor to remain poised and grounded through the grind of a long, demanding NBA season.

Chess appears to have worked perfectly for the 7-foot-4 center, who is coming off a career season, averaging 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks while shooting 51.2 percent from the field.

Along the way, Wemby strengthened his MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidacy, led the league in blocks, and guided the Spurs to the NBA Cup Final and a second-place finish in the Western Conference with a 62–20 record, marking their first 60-win season in a decade.

We all know, even through the “examples” of everyday life of “ordinary” people, how much, in a random week filled with pressure and obligations, we need that kind of release valve, something that can, even briefly, take our minds off the noise and let us breathe.

However, chess seems to be growing in popularity among league’s biggest stars, with Wembanyama’s French NT teammate Rudy Gobert also speaking about its benefits.

“When you’re just sitting, and you’re just playing chess, you don’t have to do anything else but focus on the board,” Gobert told ESPN. “But when you actually start to get some fatigue, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, I think it’s harder to make right decisions, so it kind of challenges you even more.”

Wemby is keeping his mind sharp ahead of the playoffs

That brings us to the key point of the story. A player achieving both team and individual success this early in his career, at just 22 years old, could easily rely on many other ways to escape pressure.

However, the greatest players are constantly seeking new challenges, which keeps them sharp and mentally strong when it matters most.

And just like the legendary Lenny Kravitz echoes in his timeless hit “Fly Away”, sometimes we have to “get away”, break free, disappear for a moment, and in that sense, Wembanyama is no different from the rest of us, no matter how flawless his life may appear from the outside looking in.

While he may have already mastered basketball, what lies ahead is the continued sharpening of Vic’s mind, and chess has quietly become one of the tools guiding him along that path.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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