Since LeBron James, no player has come into the NBA with more praise and higher expectations than Victor Wembanyama. Despite initial difficulties, the 19-year-old only needs a week to convince even skeptics that he will soon dominate.
There were less than ten seconds on the game clock when Victor Wembanyama, 2.25 meters tall with a 2.40 meter wingspan, flew towards the basket. His teammate Devin Vassell’s missed throw had just sailed to the ring, but “Wemby” secured the rebound and completed a tip-dunk to make it 113:114. In the next sequence, San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson stole the ball from superstar Kevin Durant and scored the decisive goal for a 115:114 lead with just under a second left. The Spurs landed despite a 20-point deficit, a phenomenal comeback win against Phoenix, one of the biggest title favorites in the league.
The number one pick showed his best performance of the season so far with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. It wasn’t just his efficiency that was astonishing. There weren’t the highlights either, such as his little private duel with Durant including a spectacular drive and dunk with his left in the first half. It was, once again in this young season, his fighting spirit, his mental resilience and the ability to fight back from setbacks: 9 of his 18 points came in the final quarter, where he hit four of his five attempts from the field, including the big points in crunch time.
Wembanyama particularly looks up to Durant – a 2.11 meter tall all-rounder, two-time champion, 13-time All-Star and supposedly the most versatile scorer of all time – and calls him a role model. The fact that he didn’t hide from “KD” but courageously sought a direct comparison, like Kobe Bryant once did with Michael Jordan, speaks volumes. “A unique type of player who will dominate for a long time,” said the veteran after the game. “He’s immensely talented and can do a lot of things on the floor. He’s long, athletic, can shoot and defend, plays with a lot of energy. Once he gets a little experience, the league is in big trouble.”
“Work in progress”
The talent of the century accepted Durant’s praise – like every honor bestowed on him – with his own detachment and serenity. He always seems to maintain perspective, keeping his eyes on the big picture. “KD is a very special player. Today I realized how far away I am from mastering the game like him. I don’t have nearly as much patience. I want to play too fast. But he has his own rhythm and takes his time , comes where he wants in peace and quiet. That’s something that I want to – if not copy – then definitely be inspired by him.”
Wembanyama has now played four games in the NBA, and the results have been mixed. In his NBA debut against Dallas, he collected 15 points, five rebounds and two steals. The first goal of his NBA career: a three-pointer after a pick & roll, from the ball, directly into the face of Maxi Kleber. Megastar Luke Doncic then said: “He’s going to be incredible, he already is. He’s so tall and, despite being 2.25 meters tall, he moves like a point guard. It’s unbelievable to see, a feast for the eyes. His future is great.” In game two, Wemby helped the Spurs to an overtime home win against Houston, contributing a strong 21 points, twelve rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Wembanyama and San Antonio had no chance against the LA Clippers; the number one pick showed his weakest performance to date with eleven points and five rebounds.
The game is clearly still too fast for him – standard for almost all rookies when they come into the NBA. 19 ball losses in the first four games as well as a large number of mostly hasty three-point attempts have limited his efficiency so far. He hasn’t found his ideal role and position for a long time and sometimes makes questionable decisions. This doesn’t necessarily just have to do with himself. San Antonio plays without a nominal point guard; the entire team is very young, inexperienced and unbalanced. Wembanyama doesn’t get nearly as many shots near the board as he should; The people around him are not known as shooters, which is why opposing defenses can concentrate on him and double up. The Spurs are young, energetic, play hard – but in many phases without the necessary penetration and with the negligence of a group of youngsters from whom not much is expected.
Hype like only LeBron once did
Of course, this does not apply to Wenbanyama itself. Since LeBron James in 2003, no player has come into the NBA with more praise and higher expectations than him. “King James”, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were still excluded from the 1979-80 season, the arrival of the tall Frenchman captivated more people than the debut of any other player in the history of this league. Johnson and Bird continued their college rivalry into the pros, forever changing the sport’s global trajectory. James went straight from high school to the pros and impressed from day one. What was completely different back then than it is today: the media attention around the clock.
“Everyone wants a unicorn today, but he’s more of an alien,” says the 38-year-old from the Los Angeles Lakers about the newcomer. “No one has ever seen a player like him, so tall and at the same time so agile and supple on the floor. It’s fascinating how he can dribble, shoot from the post, shoot three-pointers, block shots… A truly unique talent.” The Boy Wonder’s season opener was watched by 2.99 million viewers on TV and 4.3 million at its peak – the most watched “Opening Night Game” in eleven years. More than 200 million video views on social media in just one day illustrate the hype that Wembanyama is now exposed to, but which he has long since become accustomed to since he was surrounded by cameras, video clips every day during his last season with the “Metropolitans 92”. Teams and crowds of fans accompanied.
“Luckily he’s way ahead of his years,” says coaching legend Gregg Popovich, who has seen it all in his 35 years in the league and extended his contract in San Antonio for five years immediately after his club signed for the third time in May was kissed by great draft luck. “I was worried about how I could protect him from all the fuss. But I don’t have to. He’s an intelligent and thoughtful young man, has a sense of humor and knows what he wants. He was already a professional before he came here. He knows how to deal with it, so I don’t have to teach him anymore.”
On the shoulders of giants
It is significant and poetic at the same time that the Frenchman is entering the league in the same year in which his new coach Popovich and the Euro legends Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol are in the “Hall of Fame”. were recorded. The fact that he ends up with the team that is responsible like no other for the internationalization and opening of the game beyond US borders makes the whole thing perfect for the league from a marketing perspective.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson, also big men, were San Antonio’s number one picks ahead of Wembanyama. With Popovich on the sidelines, the two “Twin Towers” won the 1999 NBA title, the first in the infamous history of this franchise, which reached the playoffs a record 22 times in a row. Duncan, point guard Parker and the enigmatically brilliant Argentine Manu Ginobili later won four more championships under Popovich’s aegis, the most recent of which was in 2014. Wembanyama was ten years old at the time and in a Paris suburb about to follow the same path as all these legends before him.
“In 2045, all basketball players will be like Victor,” believes the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo, who, like Wembanyama, came across the pond as a scrawny Euro talent and became a champion and superstar. “He’s just unbelievable, man. He throws over you, he’s quick, he dribbles, he defends. I think he can be one of the best of all time.” A lot has changed in the best basketball league in the world over the past ten years. The game is more international than ever, Europeans like the “Greek Freak”, “Luka Magic” and the reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic are the measure of all things.
The Spurs, on the other hand, have not reached the playoffs since 2020. The most recent 22 wins and 60 losses were the worst performance since the 1996-97 season, the year before Duncan’s arrival changed the fortunes of this franchise forever. Many observers expect Wembanyama to have a similar effect. “We don’t have nearly as much talent here as we used to. There aren’t guys like Timmy, Manu or Tony here anymore. So it won’t be too long before Victor is ‘The Man’. It’s just a matter of time “Until I give in and let him do it,” Popovich is already predicting that he will soon hand over the keys to the franchise to his boy wonder.
Great in Texas
“Wemby mania” has long since broken out not only in the third largest city in Texas after Dallas and Houston. His number one Spurs jersey sold out faster than the Alamo City’s infamous breakfast tacos this summer. When Wembanyama landed in San Antonio for the first time after the NBA Draft, thousands of fans waited at the airport to welcome the teenager despite the 40-degree heat. For the first training game in October, more than 13,000 fans packed into the “Frost Bank Center” to get a first look at the talent of the century. And at the first home game of the season last week against Dallas, the club handed out more than 200 accreditations to journalists from around the world who flew in specifically to see Wembanyama.
So much interest in a single player who is also new to the league can be distracting, can cause cracks in the team structure, can be damaging. Luckily for the Spurs, Wembanyama has not only long since become acclimated to the attention and is letting it all slide off him with the indifference of a veteran. He is also the ultimate team player who cares more about his team’s success and relationships with his colleagues than anything else. The many youngsters in San Antonio have long since accepted him and taken him to their hearts – not only because he is so good, but because thanks to him they also experience unprecedented respect and admiration. Eleven Spurs games will be on national TV this year, compared to just one last year.
It is obvious who bears the main responsibility for this. So far, Wembanyama has more than met all expectations of him. He is already beginning to show that he can dominate at both ends of the floor and the step to superstardom is only a matter of time. At the same time, it is also clear that he still has to adapt to the NBA and the game here. Physically, but especially mentally. “Everyone will try to come at him hard, throw him off balance and physically wear him down. That’s probably the biggest adjustment for him,” says Popovich. “We have a system that he has to learn, like any other player. He still has to get used to the league, to his teammates. It all takes time, it’s a process. There is no formula, every step counts. Luckily he’s smart and can be coached, so he’ll achieve all his goals. He’ll be great.”