San Antonio Spurs star player Victor Wembanyama dressed up as Kaonashi from the popular animated film Spirited Away for Halloween before the team's game against the Utah Jazz, which they won 106 points. -88. This player of two years even plays the role of a moving character like No Face:
These are the consecutive years that Wembanyama has gotten into the holiday spirit, becoming the iconic Slender Man in 2023. After the match against Jazz, Wembanyama talked about why he chose No Face from Spirited Away as his skin for me this year:
Wembanyama recently showed off his love for anime. In an interview with HugoDécrypte, he admitted that his favorite movie is Attack on Titan and recommends it to anyone who wants to get into animation. The talented two-year player also revealed that he is a huge Star Wars fan, admitting that the first thing he did with his first NBA paycheck was buy an $850 LEGO Millennium Falcon set la. Wembanyama even took photos with Star Wars actors Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson.
photo by @sw_holocron on X
Spirited Away
Spirited Away (2001) is an animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film became the highest-grossing anime film of all time, grossing $395.58 million at the worldwide box office. It took more than a decade for Your Name (2016) and Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) to surpass them.
The film also received a whopping 31 awards and even became the first Japanese animated film to attempt to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Miyazaki went on to say: “Until now , I made the main character “I wish there was someone like that”. However, this time, I created a heroine who is an ordinary girl, someone the audience can sympathize with, someone they can say, “Yes, that's how it is.” It is very important to keep it simple and not exaggerated. Starting from there, this is not a story in which the characters grow up, but a story in which they draw on something inherent within them, revealed by specific circumstances… I wanted to tell such a story in this film. I want my young friends to live like that and I think they have the same desire.”
The hit series is available to watch on multiple platforms, including Amazon Prime, Hulu, MAX, YouTube TV, AppleTV, and Netflix (region availability may vary).
Anime and NBA
The Spurs' 7-foot-3 center is one of many centers in the anime covering the NBA. Recently, the basketball anime Kuroko's Basketball announced a partnership with the NBA. In 2022, Nike revealed the Naruto Shippuden line for Zion Williamson's “Zion 1” collection. And in the same year, the Denver Nuggets remade the iconic ending of Jujutsu Kaisen as part of their schedule
Steph Noh, senior journalist for Sporting News, recently stated in an interview with Ryan Kaminski that many players in the league are fond of anime such as Naruto and Dragon Ball, pointing out that the Utah Jazz star player Lauri Markkanen will even travel during the season with Dragon Ball manga.
We can only hope to see more anime-loving athletes as the years go by! It will be interesting to see how he dresses next year after this year's Wembanyama Spirited Away tribute show.
Source: NBA, San Antonio Spurs
© 2001 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, NDDTM
