San Antonio Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama has a warning for the NBA, telling reporters “I’m not even close [to] being at my best.”
“It is a day-by-day thing, but what is for sure is I’m not even close [to] being at my best,” Wembanyama says, per Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire. “I don’t see my progression stopping any time soon, so it is good for my confidence. There is a lot to correct and adjust.”
Victor Wembanyama Puts the League on Notice with Latest Quip
The primary discourse surrounding Wembanyama attempts to project his and the team’s future outlook. This is partly due to San Antonio having achieved plenty of success while led by All-Star big men. However, it’s also because a player of his caliber is unlikely to be satisfied with a front office’s futile attempts to give him a championship-caliber supporting cast.
To that point, Wembanyama is as competitive as he is skilled. This is one of the secrets of what makes him that much better of a player. Yet, his drive isn’t only limited to a desire to beat the team that’s in front of him. Nor is limited to a desire to bring the Spurs back into playoff, or championship, contention.
Indeed, Wembanyama had made it known even before he was drafted that he wants to be the best player in the league. Nine months into his NBA career Wembanyama looks like he’s well on his to being just that. He makes NBA history as much as any player in the league, including LeBron James and Nikola Jokic, who have six NBA MVP awards between them. Every other game he seems to be the first player in rookie, franchise, or league history to generate the eye-popping numbers he’s putting up.
Even his most staunch supporters may not have anticipated him having this much success early on. His loud, but wrong, doubters certainly didn’t.
Where Can Wemby Improve?
The scary thing about Wembanyama’s comments? At 20 years old, they’re true. What’s even more terrifying is that he doesn’t have much he needs to work on. Wembanyama is averaging 20.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. He is a walking quadruple-double in a league where players are just trying to get triple-doubles. Frankly, the only weakness that he’s shown is a need to add core strength.
To clarify, this isn’t quite the same approach as adding muscle mass. Wembanyama’s frame may not be suited for too much weight. Nonetheless, he has been vulnerable against the strength of low-post scorers. This has been particularly true of those with the footwork to get shots off against his Slender Man frame.
Sharpening up his own footwork would allow him to become a better low-post scorer. To that point, Wembanyama scores in the 35th percentile on post-ups with 0.92 points per possession. This is another area where improving his core strength would be beneficial. Wembanyama could also stand to improve his efficiency from deep, as he’s shooting 32.7 percent from 3 this season.
Time will tell how dominant Wembanyama ultimately becomes. That said, if his ceiling is anything like his baseline, the Spurs have another Hall of Fame big man on their hands. Maybe even more.
