NEW YORK — In the heart of Gramercy Park is a statue of Edwin Booth, a Shakespearean actor and brother of John Wilkes Booth, the notorious assassin of Abraham Lincoln. Edwin Booth had a friendlier legacy, considered one of the greatest American actors of the 19th century and founder of The Players, a private social club that still exists today. It was The Players that erected the statue in the early 1900s. On Sunday it was a player—Victor Wembanyama—who was sitting in front of it, a 7'4" would-be artist sketching a drawing of the famed thespian.
These monthslong playoffs have been “a whirlwind” for Wembanyama, who spent the weekend in Manhattan searching for ways to relax. “I needed some time off, let my brain cool down, recover,” said Wembanyama. “Recover as much for the body as for the mind.” The result: a 32-point tour de force in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, powering San Antonio to a 115–111 win.
