{"id":99014,"date":"2024-10-03T10:45:12","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T14:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=99014"},"modified":"2024-10-03T10:45:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T14:45:29","slug":"spurs-victor-wembanyama-proving-wise-beyond-his-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/03\/spurs-victor-wembanyama-proving-wise-beyond-his-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyama Proving He\u2019s Wise Beyond His Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>San Antonio Spurs centerpiece <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a> is in just the second chapter of what should be a storied NBA career. Already, the 2023 No. 1 pick has been a godsend for the franchise, giving the Spurs hope that they can rise from the ashes of their former dynastic like a red and gold-plumed phoenix. As a rookie, the Fawkesian Frenchman flashed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/19\/top-25-nba-players-2024-25-no-15-victor-wembanyama\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">his otherworldly potential<\/a> repeatedly. So much so that the light is still on.<\/p>\n<p>There have been several prospects, including former No. 1 picks, who haven\u2019t been able to live up to the hype. However, Wembanyama is no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownkw01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kwame Brown<\/a>, who went his entire NBA career without earning a single accolade.<\/p>\n<p>Wembanyama wrapped up his historic 2023-24 season with a landslide victory in the Rookie of the Year race. He was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, an award he seems likely to win multiple times. Due to his all-around impact and the difficulty teams have guarding him, a Most Valuable Player Award <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/29\/will-spurs-victor-wembanyama-first-player-nba-history-win-triple-crown\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">could be ahead of him<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wembanyama is cognizant of this.<\/p>\n<h2>Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyana Proving He\u2019s Wise Beyond His Years<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;I want to be an All-Star,\u201d Wembanyama tells reporters (h\/t Dusty Garza of News 4 San Antonio), \u201cbut that will come If I help my team in the best way, I&#8217;m sure l&#8217;ll be an All-Star.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This Wemby guy, he really seems to have his head on the right way. \ud83d\ude09\ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffd\ud83c\udfc0<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PorVida?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#PorVida<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBA<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AllStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#AllStar<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Wembanyama?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Wembanyama<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dsqEdIB6zI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/dsqEdIB6zI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SpursR\u039ePORT (@SpursReporter) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpursReporter\/status\/1841453836776407057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the end, if I help my team in all areas of the game, I should be in the conversation for all the trophies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That level of maturity is exactly the type of mindset Wembanyama needs. Pretending that he has no interest in individual recognition is good for a soundbite but it\u2019s not realistic. Players don\u2019t make it all the way to the NBA in hopes of posting up in the shadows.<\/p>\n<p>However, some players care too much about their individual glory, which has a negative impact on their team. They might be too ball-dominant, undermining team-oriented precepts like ball-movement. They might be too self-absorbed, which could turn off their teammates and limit chemistry.<\/p>\n<p>Wembanyama appears to have found the perfect balance between focusing on himself, his teammates, and the franchise as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere will be <a href=\"https:\/\/news4sanantonio.com\/news\/local\/how-victor-wembanyama-is-reshaping-spurs-ambitions-san-antonio-training-camp-gregg-popovich-nba-wemby-team-france-chris-paul\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no more room for mistakes<\/a>\u2026 I want to be a leader by example,\u201d Wembanyama says during Media Day. \u201cLeader in the locker room too, but above all on the court&#8230; Both tactically and in the spirit of the group, I want to be the base of the defense and also a playmaker in attack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I am within my standards and I help the team in the right way,\u201d he continues in his thick Francophone accent, \u201cI will have a leading role in attacking (offensively) and defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The Spurs Have Gotten Better<\/h3>\n<p>Wembanyama will have more help than last season, particularly at point guard. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paulch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Paul<\/a> is past his prime at 39 years old, there\u2019s no denying that the 12-time All-Star is one of the best players at his position, historically. Paul will help Wembanyama <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/29\/new-duo-of-cp3-and-wemby-look-to-put-spurs-back-on-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">simply by finding him<\/a> in pick-and-rolls and under the basket more often.<\/p>\n<p>The Spurs also traded for 2012 No. 7 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barneha02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harrison Barnes<\/a> and drafted 2024 No. 4 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/castlst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephon Castle<\/a>, who enhance the team\u2019s basketball IQ. Meanwhile, players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/branhma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Malaki Branham<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/weslebl01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blake Wesley<\/a> appear to have improved during the offseason. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vassede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Vassell<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnske04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Keldon Johnson<\/a> are still San Antonio\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/19\/devin-vassell-continues-to-rise-up-top-player-rankings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">most valuable wings<\/a>, but if Branham and Wesley have leveled up, it takes some pressure off of them as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Spurs haven\u2019t revealed whether they have a target number of wins next season. Nonetheless, they should have a better record than they did in 2023-24, when they went 22-60.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>San Antonio Spurs centerpiece Victor Wembanyama is in just the second chapter of what should be a storied NBA career. Already, the 2023 No. 1 pick has been a godsend for the franchise, giving the Spurs hope that they can rise from the ashes of their former dynastic like a red and gold-plumed phoenix. As [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":99241,"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":[34,1608,62],"tags":[229,1143,49503,4669],"class_list":["post-99014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spurs","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-chris-paul","tag-nba-awards","tag-nba-training-camp","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99014","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\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}