The question for San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is, “What kind of player do you want to be?” according to Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.
Embiid, the reigning league MVP who is well established as one of the best players in the NBA, says that the Spurs rookie needs to figure out the answer to that question to fully untap his potential.
“Not trying to be too critical. Obviously, extremely talented. Right now, there’s so much hype around him, I think he’s trying to live up to the hype. That’s what I see,” Embiid told The Athletic. “And I watch a lot of games. I think, first of all, he has to figure out where he wants to play, whether he wants to be a guard or a big or whatever. It’s not necessarily whether he wants to be a guard or a big; it’s what he wants to become. Do you want to become KD, or do you want to become me? Not KD, or like a version of those guys—you want to combine everything.
“Right now, I just feel like everything kind of feels a little forced, in the way that he’s playing. Which is not bad. Because the only way to get better is to play through it and learn. That’s the only way. You make a lot of mistakes, and you learn.”
Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports
Despite the Spurs’ struggles this season, Wembanyama is enjoying a productive rookie campaign. He is averaging 18.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on 43.3% shooting from the floor. He is shooting just 27.8% from three, however, and will need to improve that metric if he sees himself as a wing player moving forward as he develops.
Wembanyama and the Spurs are back in action in Portland on Thursday night.
