Victor Wembanyama arrived in the NBA already carrying a reputation that no teenager should have to live up to, but then he exceeded it anyway. Born in the western suburbs of Paris not far from Versailles, Victor grew up in a family where basketball was not so much a choice as an inheritance.
His mother, Élodie de Fautereau, is a former professional basketball player and coach. His maternal grandparents, Michel and Marie-Christine de Fautereau, both played the sport professionally. Additionally, his older sister, Ève, plays basketball professionally today, and his younger brother, Oscar, has already won a junior national title with Victor’s former team, Nanterre 92. While his father, Félix, wasn’t a basketball player, he was a track and field athlete who competed in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump, bringing a different but complementary athleticism to the family. (Both parents stand well above six feet.)
Victor, who also goes by the nickname “Wemby,” first gravitated toward soccer, playing as a goalkeeper, and also practiced judo before settling on basketball. His career kicked off in France at the age of 15, and four years later, he was already in the 2023 NBA Draft, where the San Antonio Spurs selected him first overall.
What followed was one of the most decorated rookie seasons in league history, resulting in him being unanimously named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year, finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and became both the first rookie and the youngest player ever named to the All-Defensive First Team. For the 2025-26 season, he won the Defensive Player of the Year award outright, becoming the youngest and first unanimous recipient in the award’s history.
On the international stage, Victor represents his home country of France, recently winning an Olympic silver medal in front of a home crowd, including his family, with the senior national team at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Below, get to know Victor Wembamyama’s parents, Élodie and Félix.
Meet Victor’s mom, Élodie de Fautereau:
Élodie, who stands 6 feet 3 inches tall, is a former member of the French national basketball team and now coaches young children in the sport. She is the parent Victor credits with introducing him to basketball. “She teaches basketball to really young players, like, from four to 10 or something like that. But for performance, I never trained with her,” Victor told Euroleague Basketball. “It’s not that she doesn’t want to get involved in my performance, but she knows her role. You know what I mean? And she knows as a parent sometimes it’s better to fade off or not to get too much involved in your children’s path.”
Élodie at a French National Basketball League game when Victor competed for the Metropolitans 92 in 2022.
Victor spent much of his early childhood at whichever gym Élodie was coaching in at the time. “I mean, I had the choice and I still have the choice to play or not play basketball, but basketball has always been around,” he told Slam Online. “I can’t avoid it in my family.” He also describes a resemblance that goes beyond the physical. “She’s more like me. We really look alike, and she’s kind of eccentric sometimes.”
Their bond has been visible in some of the most emotionally charged moments of his career. After the United States defeated France in the gold medal match at the 2024 Olympics, TV cameras captured Victor falling into Élodie’s arms as she consoled him at courtside.
Élodie at the Olympic women’s basketball semifinal between France and Belgium in 2024.
More recently, she made a rare public appearance before a Spurs playoff game in April, the day after Victor won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. When asked how it felt to claim his first major individual NBA honor, Victor glanced toward her. “It feels great. My Mom is sitting next to me!” he told Sports Illustrated. Élodie offered a wave to the camera, prompting smiles from everyone in the room. Victor then added: “[My mom] said something very true: ‘The real struggle may have been getting to 65 games.’”
Meet Victor’s dad, Félix Wembanyama:
Victor with his father Félix at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio in 2024.
Born in Belgium and of Congolese origin, Félix is a former track and field athlete. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Félix competed in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. He acquired French nationality in February 2003, less than a year before Victor was born.
Félix’s influence on Victor’s development was less about basketball and more about movement, technique, and discipline. “You know, there’s a correct way of running. And he taught me things like that,” Victor told Euroleague Basketball of his father. Around age 10, Victor even spent a year competing on a track and field team himself. “Dad gave me the passion for knowing subjects in depth,” Victor told Slam Online, “being a real technician of sports, of whatever I do.”
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at .
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