SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama resumed his habit of arriving at arenas in viral Halloween costumes on Saturday, showing up at Frost Bank Center dressed as Geralt of Rivia from the book series The Witcher.
Wembanyama explained his attachment to the series, saying it feels “as much like a fantasy book, epic fantasy, as a dive into human psychology, and emotions.” He added that after reading seven books he feels as if he knows the characters “like they’re friends or family members.”
In The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia is the protagonist: a solitary hunter who travels and earns a living by taking down monsters in a world where humans often prove “to be more diabolical than the beasts he’s chasing,” according to the team account of the series.
The 22-year-old had paused the Halloween ritual last season because the Spurs did not play on the holiday. “We don’t got a game on Halloween,” he said last year. He previously wore a No-Face costume from the animated film Spirited Away on Halloween 2024, donning an all-black one-piece and the character’s mask. That night he had 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks in a 106-88 win over the Utah Jazz, marking the second time in his career he recorded at least five in each of those five categories.
Wembanyama began the tradition as a rookie in 2023, arriving at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix in a Slenderman-inspired outfit; he finished that game with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in a 115-114 victory over the Suns. This Halloween was his first time playing at the Spurs’ home arena, and several teammates joined in: point guard De’Aaron Fox and his family dressed as characters from Toy Story, while Keldon Johnson again dressed as a cowboy. Backup center Luke Kornet said the day before Halloween he was undecided about dressing up, adding, “I might be wearing a costume… If I am, I’m going to be Captain [Georg] von Trapp from ‘The Sound of Music.'”
