In Austin's first look at Victor Wembanyama, we saw why he's going to be a star | Golden
Austin got its first live official glimpse of Victor Wembanyama on Friday night.
And the NBA’s best big man gave us a glimpse of what the San Antonio Spurs believe he will become.
A record Moody Center crowd of 16,223 cheered the rookie’s big plays and rose to its feet when he delivered a massive dunk in the fourth quarter with Denver’s Nikola Jokic on the bench, resting comfortably while the defending league champions cruised to a 117-106 win over the Spurs in the first game of the weekend I-35 series. San Antonio will play the Brooklyn Nets at Moody on Sunday.
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Wemby finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in 33 foul-plagued minutes and accomplished a milestone 57 games into his first season. He became the first rookie since Hall of Famer Tim Duncan to block 200 shots in a season. He’s on pace to threaten 300, barring injury. He’s also one of two players — retired journeyman Raef LaFrentz is the other — to block 200 shots and make 100 3-pointers in the same season.
He's already a rock star in the Alamo City and his home country of France, and his cherubic face is bearing the rigors of a long NBA season. The Spurs (14-53) are a ship being rebuilt, and the biggest piece is on board, although it’s admittedly tough to bear the responsibility of being the face of the franchise with media obligations and sudden fame while getting indoctrinated into the league by some of the world’s greatest athletes on a nightly basis.
“It's kind of a two-edged sword because of course it's mentally tiring,” Wembanyama said. “But it's hard also to stay polite every day and stuff. It's part of the job, and also it allows me to give some messages that are important to me or to defend my teammates. It’s also very useful.”
This first season has been on-the-job learning
He’s listed at 7 feet, 3½ inches — a change from the NBA’s rookie guide, which had him at 7-4 — but is all of 7-5 in his sneakers. That said, he prefers not to be listed as a center, and it makes sense because he isn’t a post. Wemby is actually a small forward playing in a post body. He’s the latest example of how the traditional center is going the way of the dodo bird. Sure, there are plenty of 7-footers entering the league, but many are playing the European style, which is outside-in as opposed to the traditional game that started with a big man playing on the block and shooting solely from inside the paint.
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Entering Friday’s game, Wemby had been on a tear since the All-Star break, averaging 21.6 points, 4.9 assists, 11.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and an astounding 4.6 blocks, but he ran headlong into the game’s best big on Friday. The oohs and ahhs emanating from the Moody stands were mostly reserved for the Denver star.
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Wemby did block a Jokic attempt at the basket seconds into the game — it drew a large roar — but from that point, the Joker dipped into his sizable bag and conducted a master class on how the position has evolved over the past three decades.
The two-time MVP used his 6-11, 284-pound frame to bully the youngster into the paint for slick jump hooks in close. He took the ball out to the perimeter and knocked down long jumpers. And then he put the rock on the floor, executed deft spin moves and set up teammates for layups and alley-oop dunks.
He posted 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists and sat out the fourth quarter, a figurative mic drop in basketball terms. Ever the sportsman, Jokic even counseled the youngster on an important part of the game during a break in the action.
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“It was just some insight on what not to do on defense,” said Wemby, who declined to elaborate. “He’s somebody I want to compete against for years and give 100% against, but also someone I respect a lot. I hope it’s going to be great battles for the future.”
Wembanyama is learning from the best
LeBron James’ Miami teammate Chris Bosh was on hand as well as Longhorn legend LaMarcus Aldridge, who spent six of his 17 seasons with the Spurs. I asked him how playing against the elite big man in the league can aid in Wembanyama’s early development.
“I guarded Joker and he can kill you every which way with his passing and scoring,” Aldridge said. “His pace to the game is very, very unique. He’s like Luka (Dallas star Doncic), but he’s 6-11. I think it's good for Wemby to play against him because I think the one thing that hopefully he takes from it is his pace to the game and how he reads the floor and takes his time out there.”
Popovich has shown Wemby tapes of Kevin Durant, LeBron, Kevin McHale and Hakeem Olajuwon, which is interesting because they’re players of different skill sets. Durant is the league’s ultimate shooter from long distance and midrange while James does some of everything with a frame listed at 250 pounds but probably closer to 270. Hall of Famers McHale and Olajuwon were two of the most accomplished low-post players in league history.
It should be noted that Pop didn’t show Wemby any tapes of Jokic and for good reason. The Joker is the sphinx of modern-day NBA big men, a riddle others simply can’t solve, let alone replicate.
“I don't think anybody can do what Nikola does,” Popovich said. “He's a one-off, amazing, fantastic phenomenon.”
While basketball purists marvel at how Jokic has revolutionized the game with a jaw-dropping skill set that belies his bulky frame — Joel Embiid has a similar skill set though more athletic — the Joker gave an interesting take in November on how the rookie will affect the league in years to come.
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“He's going to change the game, 100%,” he told reporters. "He’s already on that path, so for all of the guys, just enjoy and watch the show and let the guy change the game.”
A new breed of big man
In the years since Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo, Shaquille O’Neal and Duncan have taken their leave, the game hasn’t produced many back-to-the-basket players outside of Jokic and Philadelphia’s Embiid. Wemby is much taller, but his game is more similar to LeBron's than any of the other bigs. He’s a playmaker, not just someone you jump the ball inside to and hope he can score on a dunk.
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Back in 2011 during the lockout, LeBron, entering his second season with Miami, followed the lead of his buddy Kobe Bryant and traveled to Houston to work on his post game with Olajuwon. He was already a six-time All-Star and an elite passer but wasn’t resting on his successes. He wanted to add to his game.
Wembanyama has the benefit of an in-house low-post master in Duncan, who is already assisting in his development. Duncan was a modern-day McHale whose laid-back demeanor makes him the perfect mentor for the league’s next superstar.
Willing students understand that improvement can only come through learning, and that not only goes for young players like Wemby, but even for the league’s all-time winningest coach.
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To that end, I asked Popovich what he has learned from watching this generation of players, including Wembanyama, who arrived in San Antonio with an amazing skill set, albeit one that can be nurtured with the right teaching.
“I'm amazed at all those young guys that come into the league that are so skilled, whether it’s ball handling, passing or understanding how to play the game or the skill in which they shoot,” Pop said. “It just continues. After Dirk (Hall of Famer Nowitzki), they just keep coming.”
The Spurs in their current state are short on talent but will add some pieces in the draft. Surely there are some free agents out there who will love to team up with someone who'll be winning player of the year awards by the end of the decade. But personal accolades aren’t this kid’s focus. He’s after team goals.
“As I learned throughout the year more and more about how it actually works, it’s a big challenge for the front office to not screw everything up and to build something for the future,” Wembanyama said. “Of course I'm eager to win, but at the same time we have to be patient and trust the process. Our job is to make it happen as soon as possible.”
So much wisdom, and he just turned 20.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is learning on the fly
