What’s the one thing you might question that gets Victor Wembanyama the attention of fans more than his basketball skills? If your answer was his hairstyles, then you aren’t wrong. Throughout his off-seasons, the NBA world has gotten several glimpses of the French star experimenting with different looks. From Jeremy Sochan getting Victor Wembanyama to dye his hair in a way that made him a modern-day Dennis Rodman, to changing his curly hairstyle to a set of dreadlocks back in September last year, Wemby keeps fans either gasping or admiring him over his hairstyles. Now, the player, who is on a tour of China, is roaming around with a new look: No Hair.

Victor Wembanyama was recently captured visiting the Shaolin Monastery, also known as Shaolin Temple, in Zhengzhou, China. Spurs reporter Dusty Garza highlighted his visit on his official X account. However, for the reporter, the visit was only background information. His main focus was on the ‘wild photo’ that showed that Wembanyama has shaved his head! Garza wrote that the NBA star seems to have fully embraced “monk life”. Well, if that’s true, then not only the San Antonio Spurs, but the NBA will have to find a new superstar to replace Wemby.

However, Wembanyama would not let go of a life that so many people crave so easily. Especially when his 7-foot-3 stature makes him the ideal basketball giant. Therefore, one has to ask, what was the real reason?

Why did Victor Wembanyama shave his head?

Victor Wembanyama might not have fully renounced the world and become a monk for the remainder of his life. However, for a moment, he might have wished to see what it is like to live the life these ‘people of peace’ have created for themselves.

According to Marca, Wembanyama has a strong, authentic interest in Shaolin traditions. He wanted to display his commitment to fully pursue that interest in the way it was meant to be. Therefore, Wemby reportedly paused his other travel plans and sent his personal team home to fully focus on this spiritual retreat. It reportedly went on for 10 days, during which the NBA player lived alongside monks at the temple, participated in their lifestyle, and even wore the traditional Shaolin robes after having his head ceremonially shaved by a temple master. However, from the photos shared on social media, Wemby still had a pair of Nikes on his feet.

Through the ten-day immersion, Wemby would have looked to absorb the temple’s wisdom and practices. Along with that, he would have learned a new form of discipline by adhering to the strict schedule the monks follow. As highlighted by a user from Reddit, Wemby’s schedule would have him waking up at 5:00 AM in the morning, followed by qigong exercises, kung-fu training, and seated meditation. The Buddhist lessons and temple chores, along with individual meditation and kung-fu training sessions that would take up the rest of the day, is certainly one way of following a disciplined regime even when in the off-season.

Victor Wembanyama’s new look and practices have had the NBA world speculating hard. Many believed that this off-season practice is work to improve himself for the 2025-26 season. Dusty Garza himself highlighted this by writing, “The NBA is in trouble and they don’t even know it yet. 🤯”. Fans put out remarks like “Wemby gonna be an air bender soon,” and “He’s gonna dunk from the three-point line after this.”

Spending 10 days at a monastery and immersing himself fully in exploring that culture shouldn’t come as a surprise to Wemby fans. After all, from what the player revealed earlier, he wants his life journey to not just be limited to basketball.

Victor Wembanyama once expressed his desire to become “a complete human being”.

Over the years, NBA fans have come to realize that Victor Wembanyama is not your average basketball player. Well, of course not, judging from the records he broke and the prowess he showed right from his rookie season. However, he is also different in the interests he shows in always exploring something new. This is the same player who once showed up at public parks in New York, asking fans to play chess. As ESPN once highlighted, the Spurs star has been spotted sketching in pencil and reading philosophy and fantasy novels. All part of his journey to make himself a better human being.

Back in April 2024, during an interview with ‘The Ringer’, Wemby admitted that “The goal for me in my life is to accomplish myself and to be a complete human being. I’m free to do what I want and what I need to do, and there’s nothing that is going to stop me from doing so”.

The spontaneous plan to travel halfway across the world seems to have been a part of that idea to make himself more of a ‘complete’ human being. After all, when a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right shoulder prematurely ended his 2024–25 NBA campaign, Wemby knew he wasn’t going to have a summer filled with practice sessions. Therefore, why not make the most of the chance handed down to him?

Since his arrival in China, Wemby explored the Great Wall of China, was captured trying different cuisines, and has now spent 10 days at a monastery. With the viral new look and a potentially sharpened perspective, one wonders just how different Wembanyama will be once he returns to the basketball court.