Wembanyama, Giannis Among Surge Of NBA Players Citing Chess As Favorite Mental Training Tool

Chess has quietly taken hold across NBA locker rooms, with some of the game's biggest stars crediting the centuries-old board game for sharpening their basketball instincts. The pattern recognition, anticipation, and strategic thinking developed playing chess translates directly to their on-court play. For Giannis Antetokounmpo, he learned chess at age ten at a church in Greece. When he stripped LeBron James from behind with ten seconds remaining to seal a Milwaukee Bucks win in January, he cit...