{"id":96585,"date":"2024-09-19T13:53:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T17:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=96585"},"modified":"2024-09-19T17:18:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:18:53","slug":"top-25-nba-players-2024-25-no-15-victor-wembanyama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/19\/top-25-nba-players-2024-25-no-15-victor-wembanyama\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 25 NBA Players 2024-25: No. 15 &#8211; Victor Wembanyama"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kicking off the top 15 of our<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/18\/top-25-nba-players-2024-25-no-16-donovan-mitchell\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"> top 25<\/a> list is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-19_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama. <\/a>The 2023 No. 1 overall pick is a basketball anomaly and is poised to dominate the league over the next decade. With incredible defense and guard-like skills on offense, the 7-foot-4 giant is truly one of a kind. Let&#8217;s examine Wemby&#8217;s game and spot among the NBA&#8217;s best.<\/p>\n<h2>Top 25 NBA Players 2024-25: No. 15 &#8211; Victor Wembanyama<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>A One of One Generational Star<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The term generational star is fairly overused, however, with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/17\/wembanyama-quiets-criticisms-showing-hall-of-fame-trajectory\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Wembanyama<\/a>, a generational star doesn\u2019t even cover his absurd talent. Wemby is a one-of-one player. We have never seen a 7-foot-4 move so fluidly or with the shooting ball-handling abilities that Wemby has. Wembanyama&#8217;s size, length (8-foot wingspan), and mobility allow him to have an unprecedented defensive impact. This incredible skill set gives Wemby unlimited star upside. When it&#8217;s all said and done Wembanyama could be remembered as the best defender of all time and one the greatest players of all time. Ultimately, we\u2019ve never seen a player quite like Wemby.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victor Wembanyama is the End.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_MSqfI_XBUQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Season Recap\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wembanyama was touted as the most hyped-up player since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-19_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> and he lived up to these sky-high expectations in his rookie season. He had an incredibly dominant defensive season. Wemby averaged an absurd 3.6 blocks per game and 1.2 steals per game. Notably, he recorded 64 more total <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/leaders?StatCategory=BLK&amp;SeasonType=Regular+Season&amp;PerMode=Totals\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blocks<\/a> than anyone in the league and had stretches of the season where he had more blocks than entire teams. However, blocks and steals don\u2019t fully measure a player&#8217;s defensive impact. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wemby\u2019s elite mobility, combined with his rim protection and ability to deter shots highlights his defensive impact. Furthermore, the advanced stats back up his impact with Wemby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/team\/1610612759\/onoffcourt-summary?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=ON_DEF_RATING\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on the court<\/a> the Spurs had a top-five <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/defense?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">defense<\/a> when he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/team\/1610612759\/onoffcourt-summary?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=OFF_DEF_RATING\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">off the court<\/a> they had the 24th-ranked defense. Impressively, Wemby finished second in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/12\/3-reasons-why-victor-wembanyama-should-win-dpoy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Defensive Player of the Year<\/a> voting\u00a0and became the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kens5.com\/article\/sports\/nba\/spurs\/spurs-victor-wembanyama-2023-24-nba-all-defensive-first-team-san-antonio\/273-d5feced5-3142-4b92-86a7-746f3d986e0c#:~:text=Wembanyama%20became%20the%20first%20rookie,after%20the%201997%2D98%20season.\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">youngest<\/a> player ever to make an All-Defensive team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wemby also showed a star-level production on offense, averaging 21.4 points and 3.9 assists in under 30 minutes a game. After the January 1st, Wemby shined, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/ask\/wembanyama-stats-after-jan-1\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">averaging<\/a> 23.1 points along with 10.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Wembanayama <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/players\/pullup?CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*Wemb&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shot<\/a> 37.5 percent on pull-up three-pointers and took on a lot of playmaking responsibility for the Spurs posting an impressive 21.5\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html#advanced\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">assist<\/a> percentage. San Antonio had one of the worst rosters in the league; they didn\u2019t surround Wemby with playmaking or floor spacing. Notably, the Spurs ranked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/shots-general?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=FG3_PCT\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">28th<\/a> in three-point percentage and lacked a natural playmaker. While the Spurs only won 22 games, Wemby&#8217;s efforts were nothing short of incredible, and his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/19\/the-greatest-rookie-seasons-of-all-time-how-does-wembanyama-stack-up-to-the-goats\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">rookie season<\/a> will go down as one of the best of all time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Wemby had more blocks than these teams in February \ud83d\ude2f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hAyhHMKtLZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/hAyhHMKtLZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Get Up (@GetUpESPN) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GetUpESPN\/status\/1763576888448934252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Season Outlook\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A second-year jump is common for most young stars. Given Wemby\u2019s talent, this will likely be a massive jump. Notably, Wembanyama is the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/05\/current-major-2024-25-nba-awards-odds\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">favorite<\/a> to win both the Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Wemby is poised to dominate the DPOY award for the next decade. Crucially, the Spurs upgraded the roster around Wemby this offseason. By drafting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/castlst01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-19_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephon Castle<\/a> and signing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paulch01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-19_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Paul<\/a> the Spurs upgrade their main need of playmaking. Paul will be a vital veteran presence while Castle will be an ideal guard partner next to Wemby for years to come. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The defensive upside with Castle and Wembanyama is off the charts. The Spurs also traded for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barneha02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-19_bbr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harrison Barnes<\/a>, a solid veteran who upgrades their floor spacing. By addressing their main needs in the offseason paired with a second-year jump from Wemby the Spurs will be more competitive this season. With these improvements, Wembanyama could average 25-plus points and fully establish himself as the league&#8217;s best defender.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Last Word\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some may argue that 15 is too high for Wemby solely based on last season. Regardless, projection is slightly factored into these rankings and 15 isn\u2019t ridiculous as things currently stand. Wemby already has a strong case for the best defender in the league with an inevitable scoring jump he will rapidly rise up the rankings. By this time next year, Wembanyama will likely be in the top 10 perhaps even higher.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><br style=\"font-weight: 400;\" \/><br style=\"font-weight: 400;\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kicking off the top 15 of our top 25 list is\u00a0Victor Wembanyama. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick is a basketball anomaly and is poised to dominate the league over the next decade. With incredible defense and guard-like skills on offense, the 7-foot-4 giant is truly one of a kind. Let&#8217;s examine Wemby&#8217;s game and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4779,"featured_media":96589,"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":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,2,34],"tags":[5031,49488,4669],"class_list":["post-96585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-featured","category-spurs","tag-nba-player-rankings","tag-top-25-nba-players-2024-25","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96585","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\/4779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}