The Victor Wembanyama Era began on Saturday when the most heralded prospect since LeBron James made his summer league debut in front of a sold-out crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Here are three thoughts on Wembanyama’s NBA opener.
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1. There was plenty of good
The final stat line (nine points on 2-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-6 from three-point range) wasn’t pretty. Wembanyama missed a driving layup on his first attempt. On San Antonio’s next possession, he bricked a mid-range jumper. Two possessions later Wembanyama muffed a dunk attempt in traffic. At times he looked uncomfortable with the level of physicality.
Still—the talent is obvious. He powered in a turnaround through contact. His lone three-pointer turned into a four-point play. He slipped a nifty shovel pass to Dominick Barlow. He found Charles Bediako on a dribble drive. He collected three assists and should have had a handful more. He blocked five shots and with his eight-foot wingspan altered just as many.
“I think he’s pretty amazing,” said Spurs summer league coach Matt Nielsen. “When you look at what’s thrown at him at all different angles, the attention and all that. The exciting part I witnessed is that he just wanted to play basketball.”
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Wembanyama. He flew from France to New York, New York to San Antonio, San Antonio to Las Vegas. In mid-June he was playing in the French League Finals. In early July, he was on TMZ after an inadvertent dustup with Britney Spears. Fatigue—and Wembanyama admitted after the game his conditioning was an issue—was understandable. But the size, the skill, the outstanding basketball IQ make you understand why the 19-year-old has received so much hype.
2. There’s plenty to work on, too
Highlight reels of Wembanyama often showed the 7'3" big man knocking down three-pointers. But it’s clear he’s a long way from being a reliable three-point shooter. Wembanyama connected on 27.5% of his threes with Metropolitans 92 last season and in the summer league opener you could see why. His footwork looked sloppy and from three he seems to push his shots more than fluidly shoot them. As comfortable as Wembanyama looks off the dribble (really comfortable) or in the high post (really, really comfortable) he will need to work to make the three a reliable part of his game.
3. Wembanyama will be an All-Defensive team-level defender immediately.
On Friday, Wembanyama was everywhere on the defensive end. He blocked layups. He blocked a three. He played 28 minutes and anyone in a Charlotte uniform going to the basket had their head on a swivel for every one of them. Wembanyama’s not the fleetest of foot and he will have to adjust to the steady diet of pick-and-rolls he will face in the NBA. But his size, length, athleticism and instincts offer Rudy Gobert-like potential on the defensive end. Maybe better.
