Ordained, eat vegetarian food, and practice kung fu! Wenban Yama talks about the adventures of Shaolin Temple practice

On an ordinary Saturday in Midtown Manhattan, Victor Vinbanyama and Kevin Hart lie shirtless in a tailor-made, water-filled metal bathtub, the comedian is asking the rising NBA superstar about his two-week training with monks in China.

Yes, this information is a bit large.

The 21-year-old San Antonio Spurs center participated in two high-profile events at the FanaticsFest at the Javits Center on Saturday. First, Vinban Yama "bathed" with Hart and recorded an episode of the latter's podcast program "Shirtless"; then, he participated in "TheShop" and sat with LeBron James, Tom Brady and anchor Kay Senate. Both events brought relaxing and comfortable conversations, and Hart and TheShop guests also asked some interesting questions to Vinban Yama. The focus of both occasions is on everyone's curiosity about the trip to Wenban Yama in China.

On the "TheShop", he tried to mention this matter lightly and said, "I have been in China for the past two weeks and have practiced with monks." Several guests in the "TheShop" program immediately interrupted, unwilling to let him go of his "by the way" answer easily. Brady said, "We have to listen carefully." Wenban Yama agreed with a smile. He explained that he went to Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China, and was accompanied by a member of the Spurs' strength training team.

"That was a great experience," said Vinbanyama. "My goal was to get my body to go through something that it was not used to doing to improve my range of motion and strength. It might be very different from the training method I am used to."

What did I do specifically?

"Kung Fu. Practice every day. It's a vegetarian temple, a temple...I experienced the feeling of being isolated from the world," added Wenban Yama, and many meals were made of zucchini and rice noodles. That means he has to sneak out and eat some meat to maintain his weight—he told Hart that he has increased to 245 pounds (about 111 kg).

The most significant external change this journey brought to Vinban Yama was his hairstyle. The first thing the monks asked Wenban Yama to do was to shave their heads. He did it without hesitation. "I'm sure I'm a Buddhist now," Wenban Yama joked, "worth it."

Wenban Yama did not discuss his injury status. In February this year, a blood clot on his right shoulder ended the 2024-25 season. However, he is expected to be ready for the start of the new season.

At the same time, this is also the first time that Vinbanyama has publicly talked about Gregg Popovich no longer being the head coach of the Spurs. Vinbanyama admitted that he was shocked when Popovich announced the end of his 29-year squad mentorship in early May. Popovich moved to management and Mickey Johnson took over as coach.

"First of all, as a person," said Vinbanyama, "we are all very close. All of our teammates have a very good relationship with him. When something like this happens, it's always sad and shocking. What makes him incredible is that as someone like him, he still keeps giving us hope. He keeps inspiring us. Because of the way he works, he works harder than most athletes in the world."

Hart asked Vinbanyama if she is a big fan of Kevin Durant, and the question might be a bit abrupt, and the Spurs center answered "yes." But it may not be a coincidence that the Suns forward, who is about to turn 37 in September, is ranked among the top teams on the list of the teams that they most want to be traded before the new season begins. Vinbanyama said Durant's football skills have inspired him throughout his life, but Hart and Vinbanyama remained restrained during the conversation and did not lobby any recruiting nature to avoid suspected violations.

(Text/Kong Yang)