Pressure will be immense on Wembanyama
Putting down $20,000 on the Spurs to take Victor Wembanyama first overall would have turned a cool $100 profit in some sports books. That’s how much of a cinch the drafting of Wembanyama was after San Antonio won the lottery.
The 7-foot-5-inch wunderkind has megastar potential. The Frenchman is personable, fluent in English, and humble enough to know it will require vigor and perseverance to reach his potential. And what exactly is his potential?
All-Star? Best player in the league? Hall of Fame? All of the above. Wembanyama on Thursday dispelled the rumors that he’s going to sit out summer league, which had to thrill the NBA, which immediately set up a prime-time opening game in Las Vegas against the Hornets and second overall pick Brandon Miller.
The Spurs needed a lift after years of suffering since the retirement of Tim Duncan. Wembanyama injects life into a franchise and basketball market that have been rudderless.
“Some players have tried to win the championship, win a ring for years and haven’t made it,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t want to be one of those. This is going to be — my goal is going to be to get closer and closer every time to the ring and to learn how to make it. Not skip any steps for me makes sense because it’s easy to make that mistake. I’m glad I got people around me that can help me not make that mistake.
“Tim Duncan, if I got the opportunity to work with him, is going to be — I can’t really think of a better role model.”
When told there were loud celebrations at San Antonio’s popular River Walk, Wembanyama wanted to see video footage, and then he made a promise.
“My message to them is I’m going to give 100 percent,” he said. “Make all that’s in my power to make this franchise win, to have impact on the franchise and the fan base and the community.”
There will be immense pressure on Wembanyama because of his skill set. He’s a 7-5 point guard, a vastly talented 19-year-old who can revolutionize the game. But there will be a process. Wembanyama will have to adapt to the physicality, realize that opposing players will gun for him. The Spurs will lose a lot of games next season and he’ll have to accept incremental franchise growth while immediately becoming one of the faces of the NBA.
Good luck, kid.
“The game shifted a little bit in the last couple years,” he said. “I think it makes sense because you need a combination of skill but also of luck and genetics to be the best. The best lately have been bigs, and European bigs. The road is going to be very long for me to reach the top, but I’m ready to learn from anybody.”
He will be an instant role model. When he arrived in New York for the draft this past week, he threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game after taking the subway to the stadium. He appears ready for the attention and demand, and the Spurs will surround him with a support system that will protect him but also foster his development.
“I don’t know if . . . the kids, the 7footer kids and stuff, can learn a lot from me,” Wembanyama said. “But they can learn more from themselves. The most important is to know yourself.”
The Spurs have maintained a French connection for years since drafting
Tony Parker in 2001. He played 17 years for the Spurs and will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August.
“A Tony Parker fan, for sure,” Wembanyama said. “So I guess it made me a Spurs fan, also. I’m really glad — I’ve felt so much love toward me by the Spurs fans ever since May 16. I think there’s murals of me in the city center in San Antonio. It’s just incredible. I could not ask for a better welcome than this. I really love the fan base.”
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas believes Wembanyama will become a rousing success.
“Any great talent is going to adjust really well to Gregg Popovich. He’s one of the best coaches that’s ever lived, so that won’t be an issue,” Bilas said. “Wembanyama is unique. I’ve never seen anything quite like him on a basketball floor. At [7-5] with a wing span of close to 8 feet with fluidity and athleticism and mobility, I just can’t fathom a combination quite like that on a basketball floor.
“If Ralph Sampson were born 19 years ago, maybe that would be a comparison. But Ralph was born in the era of big guys on this end, guards on this end in practice, and big guys were planted in the low post. Now they play all over the floor.”
The league has sought versatile big men over the past several years. New Celtic Kristaps Porzingis could be a model for Wembanyama because of his ability to stretch the floor, flourish in transition, and score in the paint despite his slight frame. Wembanyama has the ability to score from all areas.
“Wembanyama is a reflection of the change in the game,” Bilas said. “He can really shoot it. He can handle it. He can operate as a pick-and-roll ballhandler at [7-5]. He’s an extraordinary defender. He can switch out on to a guard and give the guard 5 or 6 feet to take away the drive, and he can still recover and block a shot out of the air, a 3-pointer. He’s a range shot-blocker.
“Rudy Gobert played in the same division in France, and this was several years ago, obviously, because he’s been in the league for a long time, but in 27 games I believe it was, versus 34 for Wembanyama, Wembanyama blocked over 50 more shots. He’s an extraordinary player, and there aren’t any question marks with him.”
There are no weaknesses, except those that are perceived.
“The only thing you could do is if you wanted to make something up is say, ‘I don’t know about his durability because of his frame, or what about injury?’ ” Bilas said. “But his frame is no different than Kevin Durant’s was when he came out of Texas, and if you recall, Kevin Durant couldn’t bench press 185 pounds one time at the Combine, and we were like, ‘Oh, my God, he can’t bench press’, like there was going to be a bench-press contest during the game, they’d stop the game and have a benchpress contest. Worked out pretty well for Kevin Durant.
“Absent injury, I think it’s a nobrainer that Victor Wembanyama is going to be great.”