Oscar Wembanyama picked up basketball in 2021 at age 14 – that is, two years after his brother Victor started his professional career at 15. By the time Oscar’s development had hit any kind of stride, Victor had already become the No. 1 overall pick, a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, and the most scrutinized 22-year-old in professional sport. But the 19-year-old isn’t running from any of that. He’s just decided what he’s willing to let in.

In an exclusive interview with HoopsHype at the adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, where Oscar posted 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in a lopsided win, he addressed what it means to carry a name that precedes him everywhere.

“It’s definitely not easy,” Oscar said. “I think every athlete that has a family member that went pro knows what it is. Like, people recognize you without you doing nothing. I just don’t care about a lot of things, social media, people knowing you. I care about the people that are close to me. So I think I do a pretty good job just shutting the noise around me.”

He added, “I have a big name, my brother’s the best player in the world. So I cannot ignore that. And nobody does.”

When pressed on whether it ever gets to him, he asserted: “Is it weird or like annoying? Yeah, sometimes it’s annoying. When you’re not feeling so great, it’s always difficult to deal with all the attention you have. But it’s a part of being a professional. The only thing that changed for me is that all the attention comes early in my career. But eventually, if you become a professional basketball player, you have to deal with it, media, fans, haters. It’s life.”

Now, Victor averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks last season, led the Spurs to the NBA Finals, and became the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history. The Finals also generated a separate controversy when he walked straight off the court after losing to the Knicks in Game 5, sparking a week of debate across basketball media. That’s what Oscar, who is 19 years old, is navigating, with a brother whose every move, on and off the floor, feeds a global news cycle.

Oscar Wembanyama Is Already Separating Himself From the Noise

After dominating France’s U21 Espoirs Elite, averaging 10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, first-team minutes at SIG Strasbourg remained limited given the club’s Basketball Champions League campaign. So Oscar Wembanyama made a deliberate call by signing with Denain ASC Voltaire in France’s Pro B division, and stepped down a level to secure the senior minutes necessary to accelerate his NBA draft pursuit. 

The decision followed a Eurocamp showing that drew immediate attention from scouts. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony called it one of the standout performances of the event, noting Oscar’s two-way versatility, perimeter shot-making, transition fluidity, and a big jump in overall ability over the past 12 to 18 months.

So, his own goal, as he told EuroLeague Basketball in 2023, was never to replicate what Victor built: “My goal is not to do exactly like him, but to write my own story, as beautiful as possible.” 

And he appears to be closer to it than ever before. Measured at 6’7¼” barefoot with a 6’11¼” wingspan at 192 pounds, Oscar projects as a high-end 3-and-D wing and is now firmly in the legitimate first-round conversation for the 2027 draft class.