{"id":121050,"date":"2025-01-31T21:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T02:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=121050"},"modified":"2025-02-01T13:43:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T18:43:18","slug":"wembanyama-hints-at-getting-stronger-after-things-get-political","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/31\/wembanyama-hints-at-getting-stronger-after-things-get-political\/","title":{"rendered":"Wembanyama Hints At Getting Stronger After Things Get ‘Political’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victor Wembanyama<\/a> has had enough. The San Antonio Spurs<\/a> star finally reacted after what he believes is unfair treatment by officials. Victor Wembanyama wants to get stronger to combat this unfair treatment.<\/p>\n

Victor Wembanyama Hints At Getting Stronger After Things Get ‘Political’<\/h2>\n

Wembanyama\u2019s Frustration Boils Over<\/h3>\n

During the Spurs\u2019 128-116 loss to the LA Clippers, Wembanyama charged at Ivica Zubac<\/a> after the center shoved him to the floor. Spurs players and coaches restrained him, but his frustration was clear.<\/p>\n

“It’s not even about Zubac,” Wembanyama said<\/a>. “It’s just frustration, no matter who it was.”<\/p>\n

The incident happened late in the third quarter. Wembanyama blocked Zubac\u2019s dunk attempt, and no foul was called. Moments later, Zubac hip-checked and elbowed Wembanyama, sending him flying. No foul was called, and officials did not review the play.<\/p>\n

San Antonio’s acting head coach, Mitch Johnson, called out the officiating. “You’ll get reactions like that,” Johnson said<\/a>. “It’s probably surprising he hasn’t reacted like that earlier, to be honest. He gets a lot of contact, and at some point, he’s going to have to continue to protect himself if the people controlling the game, supposedly, are not going to do that.”<\/p>\n

When asked if he believes he gets a fair whistle from officials, Wembanyama answered bluntly: “No.”<\/p>\n

Wembanyama’s Focus: Stronger, Not Bigger<\/h3>\n

Wembanyama knows defenders target his frame. At 7-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he still faces challenges against stronger opponents.<\/p>\n

“So it’s a hard thing to fight, because it feels unfair sometimes,” he said<\/a>.\u00a0“But of course, we talk about it with the staff and there is some stuff I have to do to help myself. First of all, being strong and not bailing out shots, but also there is some work to do. Talking to the refs, of course, explaining myself. But for me, it doesn’t feel like it’s something I should inflence. I’m a basketball player, I’m here to play, and yeah, this is why it’s frustrating. It’s not my job to do politics.”<\/p>\n

Since entering the league, Wembanyama<\/a> has carefully managed his weight. He started his rookie season at 209 pounds but has since added over 11 pounds.<\/p>\n

“10 kilos? No. Maybe about four to five kilos,” Wembanyama told<\/a> the French site Brut<\/em>.<\/p>\n

His focus remains on getting stronger rather than simply adding bulk. “I don’t need to bulk up; I need to get stronger,” he said<\/a> on draft night.<\/p>\n

He has taken measured steps to ensure he stays flexible while gaining strength. He practices yoga, follows long warm-up routines, and avoids unnecessary mass gain. His goal is to absorb contact without sacrificing speed and agility.<\/p>\n

Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s Transformation<\/h3>\n

Wembanyama\u2019s path mirrors Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s<\/a> physical transformation. Giannis entered the NBA in 2013 as a lanky, 190-pound rookie. Over the years, he prioritized strength training while maintaining flexibility.<\/p>\n

Giannis eventually added nearly 50 pounds of muscle, reaching around 242 pounds. The added strength has helped him dominate the paint, absorb contact, and finish through defenders.<\/p>\n

His ability to blend strength with agility turned him into an unstoppable force. He became a two-time MVP and led the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> to an NBA championship in 2021.<\/p>\n

Wembanyama could follow a similar path. With his height, wingspan, and ball-handling skills, adding strength could make him even more dangerous.<\/p>\n

Strength Gains Could Change Everything<\/h3>\n

Wembanyama<\/a> has already faced physical challenges from elite big men. Alperen Sengun,<\/a> Nikola Jokic<\/a>, Anthony Davis<\/a>, and Joel Embiid<\/a> have all used their size to overpower him.<\/p>\n

With added strength, Wembanyama could flip the script on defenders who try to bully him. His ability to stretch the floor, dribble, and defend at an elite level makes him a nightmare for opponents.<\/p>\n

A stronger Wembanyama<\/a> is exactly what defenders don\u2019t want to deal with next season. If his transformation mirrors Giannis’ progression, the NBA will be looking at the next unstoppable force.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victor Wembanyama has had enough. The San Antonio Spurs star finally reacted after what he believes is unfair treatment by officials. Victor Wembanyama wants to get stronger to combat this unfair treatment. Victor Wembanyama Hints At Getting Stronger After Things Get ‘Political’ Wembanyama\u2019s Frustration Boils Over During the Spurs\u2019 128-116 loss to the LA Clippers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":121060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,34],"tags":[4293,240,306,652,267,72,4669],"class_list":["post-121050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-spurs","tag-alperen-sengun","tag-anthony-davis","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-ivica-zubac","tag-joel-embiid","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Zach Kircher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121050"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121411,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121050\/revisions\/121411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}