Before the Spurs drafted Wembanyama No. 1 in 2023, they selected a Frenchman named Tony Parker with the No. 28 pick in 2001.

The main events start Thursday when Wembanyama and the Spurs take on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two games in Paris. The rematch is Saturday, both happening at Accor Arena, the same building where Wembanyama played in the knockout round of the Paris Olympics last summer when he and France wound up losing to the U.S. in the gold-medal game.

A group of Wembanyama’s former coaches, teammates and trainers greeted him and the Spurs at Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez on Monday.