Michael Karlis
A fan holds up a cutout of No. 1 NBA Draft pick Victor Wembanyama at the Spurs' draft watch party at the AT&T Center.
On Sunday, Nike plastered its social media accounts with photos of the San Antonio Spurs' newest star player sporting the company's new Fleece Tech — an innovation in meant to trap body heat so athletes can remain loose during warmups.
"Who knew aliens wore techxedos," the brand wrote in an Instagram post featuring Wemby. "The Extraterrestrial has landed in #NikeTech."
"#NikeTech really does make the best spacesuit. Going to the moon," Nike wrote in a second post featuring the player.
Wembanyama's out-of-this-world nickname is associated with him having the skills of a guard despite being 7-foot-4. The first reference to him being from someplace other than Earth appears to have originated in October 2022, when LeBron James called the French wonder an "alien" during a press conference.
"We're labeling him like this unicorn thing. Everybody has been a unicorn over the last few years, but he's more like an alien," James said, according to the New York Post. "I've never seen — no one has ever seen — anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor."
"The Extraterrestrial" joins a growing list of other Spurs great with cool nicknames, from Tim "The Big Fundamental" Duncan and Manu "Obi-Wan" Ginobili to George "Ice Man" Gervin.
Wembanyama will make his NBA pre-season debut during an Oct. 9 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs haven't yet released their full regular season schedule.
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