It’s only been half a season. He only played 35 games. However, San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama has proven himself to be one of the most versatile players in NBA history. The scary thing is: He’s still improving by leaps and bounds.
The player who LeBron James once described as “not a unicorn, but more like an alien” has become one of the most anticipated rookies in NBA history this season. Wembunyama was Considered by most to be the best rookie to enter the league since LeBron James in 2004, Wembanyama became the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft after a breakout season in France as a teenager, winning the draft with the San Antonio Spurs Won the May lottery prize.
After a promising start, including a 38-point outburst in his fifth NBA game, both Vunbanyama and the Spurs have run into some issues. Teams took a closer look at him; bigger, heavier opponents hit his body harder, forcing him to take off-balance jumpers; and a Tottenham lineup that wasn’t ready did little to help him. The Spurs lost 18 straight games — a feat quickly eclipsed by the Detroit Pistons’ 28-game losing streak, but still bad. Meanwhile, Wembanyama shot just 43.3 percent from the field in November.
Lately, however, we’ve seen more consistent flashes of his dominant potential and relatively few wayward shots. While the Spurs continue to struggle — the team is just 7-32 on the season — Vunbanyama’s performance has steadily improved, including a dominant start to January.
“I think you can see what he does and how incredibly talented he is,” Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic said earlier this season. “I really enjoy watching him.”
As we reach the halfway point of Wembanyama’s first season, it’s a good time to take stock of the rookie’s first season and some of the positives and negatives so far.
Let’s start with the eye candy. No player in the league produces more highlights per minute than Wembunyama. In just half a season, he’s already built an amazing YouTube catalog, using his unprecedented length and skill set to accomplish feats we’ve never seen on a basketball court.
A random game from Monday’s game in Atlanta. Wembanyama caught the ball at the three-point line and did something we’re not used to seeing from a 7-foot-4 player – a behind-the-back dribble dunk with his left hand.
please look below. The Hawks’ Jalen Johnson played great defense and seemed to force a tough, contested hook shot from Vembanyama. He stopped the rookie giant on his initial left lunge, but Wembanya used body control to apply the brakes, avoid charges and change the angle of attack. Johnson slipped off his feet as Wembanyama effortlessly changed direction from behind and started leaping on his haunches from outside the charging circle. Johnson looks like he’s preparing for a jump shot or a hook shot, and then… boom.
For 99% of players, this is a tough, contested jump shot, floater or hook shot. Except for Wembunyama, who had his right foot inside the jump ball hoop and just extended his checker gadget arm toward the basket and stretched until he dunked over Johnson.that’s one of them nine slam dunks He just lost to the Spurs in the second half. A related statistic shows that out of 557 shots taken by Wembanyama this season, only 9 have been blocked.
Now we’re getting everyone excited and making things worse by having me play Debbie Downer. First, his team was terrible, and Vunbanyama wasn’t good enough to overcome that. While the Spurs have been slightly better lately, there’s no doubt they’ve been disappointing. They are young and lack players of Wembanyama’s caliber but are expected to be more competitive.
Wembunyama and point guard Tre Jones are becoming a formidable combination. (Michael Gonzalez/NBAE via Getty Images)
Part of this is a result of lineup structures that at times seemed designed strictly to derail Wembanyama’s development. The Spurs began the season by trying second-year pro Jeremy Soshan at point guard, though he showed no real qualifications or ability to play the position.
They also placed another center, Zach Collins, next to Wembanyama in the frontcourt, pushing Wembanyama to the outside at both ends. The combination of Collins and Wembunyama is outscored by 11.8 points per 100 possessions in 25 games. Hopefully we’ll never see it again.
The Spurs, meanwhile, seemed almost stubborn in their refusal to play Tre Jones, their only point guard, with Wembunyama. This season, Jones and Wembunyama’s lineup has outscored opponents by 3.9 points per 100 possessions, no mean feat for a team that has been outscored by 9.1 points per 100 possessions, but until recently, they were Start playing against each other frequently.
Additionally, a series of ankle sprains in December allowed Spurs to stretch out Wembanya’s playing time. He will reportedly play in the opening game of a back-to-back on Friday night in Charlotte. He has not played in back-to-back games since Nov. 18 and has played a maximum of 27 minutes since Dec. 17.
Still, even since the day it opened, Wembanyama’s progress has been evident. It helps that he’s succeeding in more situations now. Slowly but surely, the Spurs have fumbled and stumbled into a more viable lineup. After a disastrous first quarter of the season, the Spurs eventually moved Soshane out of the starting lineup, moved Collins out of the starting lineup, and moved Wimbanyama to center. Lo and behold, moving the 7-foot-4 guy closer to the basket seems to have some benefits.
Meanwhile, nearly every other guard on the team was injured, but Jones finally became the starting point guard.
Since Christmas, Wembanyama has reached another level. In 10 games, he scored nearly a point per minute (232 points in 242 minutes) while shooting 62.6 percent from behind the arc and improving on his free throw shooting, including his first two from the line. A game in which the rate reached double digits. Defensively, he blocked a ridiculous 5.2 shots per 36 minutes during that stretch, some of which were ridiculous physical feats. Watch here as Atlanta’s Trae Young catches the ball, swipes down at the ball…and then magically blocks Young’s floater attempt with the same hand.
Trey had zero chance, Wenby ate him up pic.twitter.com/YgS0KpDHNK
— CJ Fogler Accounts that may or may not be noteworthy (@cjzero) January 15, 2024
On the offensive end, low shooting percentage and long-distance two-pointers after dribbling were his main performances at the beginning of the season, but now they have gradually decreased. In its place is a hard rim. Jones kept looking for him in the air and the rest of the Spurs were aware of the fact that it was impossible to topple Wembanya.
Who is suitable to be a SLOB Lob?
Winby caught a 16-point inbounds ball in the fourth quarter 💪
📺 Hawks vs. Spurs game live on TNT pic.twitter.com/gnNe43K8RO
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2024
When I asked Wembanya where he has improved the most, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had this to say about his progress after Monday’s game in Atlanta,
“Probably aggression,” Popovich said. “Run to the basket and not be so focused on the three-point shot. Run the floor and be that target. Of course, teams have learned they need to pass the ball and that’s not what we’re used to. He’s learned how to do that. a little bit, and understand that sets the tone for everyone.
Wembanya could become the third player in Spurs history to lead the league in blocks as a rookie, joining David Robinson and Tim Duncan. (Brian Babineau/NBAE, Getty Images)
“Defensively, he’s becoming a really good rim protector and obviously he’s tall. He should be long-term, but he’s figuring out how to make that a clear priority. Everybody else is learning how to deal with that. That question, playing around him.”
You can see digital evidence of Popovich’s claims all over the place, including some of the numbers cited above. While Popovich focuses on 3-pointers, the variation in that volume is smaller than Vembanyama’s overall reliance on off-the-dribble jumpers.
Furthermore, the visual evidence of Wembanyama’s edge running cannot be ignored. On Monday, he hit three more baskets, catalyzed by Jones, setting up a quick alley-oop for the Hawks. Watch the video begin as Wembunyama collides with Atlanta’s Clint Capela under the rim, then magically appears under the rim as the video ends.
Popovich also credits Wembanyama’s basketball skills with helping him improve so quickly.
“A very high IQ, able to understand the game intuitively,” Popovich said. “You explain something to him and he gets it. He’s just an amazing 20-year-old.”
Vunbanyama certainly showed maturity beyond his years in press conferences, and even on nights when things weren’t going well, his reaction to Popovich’s harsh coaching was notable. For example, the Spurs were floundering in Atlanta on Monday, trailing by 35 points at halftime, and a disgruntled Popovich benched three starters (including Wembanyama) at the start of the third quarter. Vunbanyama understood.
“The message is strong and obvious,” Wembanyama said. “He said we were embarrassed and that we were probably going through the worst half so far.”
Did Popovich put it so nicely?
“Oh God, no.”
However, Wembanyama nearly pulled the Spurs back from a huge deficit after halftime with a 26-point burst, including the aforementioned dunk extravaganza.
“I like being coached, and I like being threatened and sent to the D-League if I don’t play the right way. I don’t care, I like having consequences for my mistakes,” he said.
There doesn’t seem to be a need to go to Austin to play for the Spurs’ G-League team — Vunbanyama will be the San Antonio Spurs’ starting center for the foreseeable future — but Popovich could still have him read in some capacity Riot Act. For motivation.
Wembanyama’s mid-range shooting is pretty poor — just 31 percent on two-pointers from 10 feet away, according to Basketball Reference — while he’s shooting 29.3 percent on three-pointers. This supports Popovich’s opinion on the frequency of his 3-pointers. While he has shown flashes of shooting touch, it’s still a developing skill for him and not a first choice. Even last year in France, Wembanyama liked this shot a little too much.
If we were being picky, we could point out a few other things. His turnover rate is also too high (5.5 per 100 possessions) as some of his ball-handling adventures get him into trouble. He needs to be more crafty in drawing fouls and add some lower-body strength to the rim battle (although his 19.1 rebound rate is pretty good for a center).
However, looking at the big picture, Wembanyama’s recent dominance and steady improvement since opening day, when you extrapolate the graph out a few years, it points to a stratospheric endpoint.
“He’s going to change the game 100 percent,” Denver Nuggets star and NBA MVP Nikola Jokic told reporters after playing against him earlier this season. “He’s already on that path, so just enjoy it and watch the show and let him change the game.”
After falling behind Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren early in the race for NBA Rookie of the Year, Wembunama once again proved to be a formidable opponent in a two-horse race. At just 20 years old, he possesses enviable abilities and undoubtedly has more long-term upside than any other player in the league.
So everyone must enjoy the journey. Back-to-backs and minutes restrictions may cause temporary trouble for fans who want to see more games, but Wembunyama remains must-see TV as he is among the most talented players the league has ever seen. One of the players. The most exciting part now is the continued performance of Spurs’ French prodigy in the second half of the season and beyond.
(Illustration: Eamon Dalton/ Competitor; Photo: Dylan Bull/Getty Images)
