How a Move to Center has Unleashed Spurs' Rookie Victor Wembanyama
As Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren continues to rank as the favorite to win Rookie Of the Year, Victor Wembanyama is giving him a run for his money, particularly of late.
Since the Spurs moved the 7-foot-4 big man to center three games ago, placing Zach Collins on the bench as a backup, Wembanyama has produced earth shattering numbers of 22.0 points, 17.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game.
Remember, he's 19.
The move hasn't yet led to a win for the Spurs, who have lost 18 straight - which also seems to be the primary argument against Wembanyama as a Rookie Of the Year favorite.
So what is it exactly the move has done?
For one, Wembanyama is quite simply playing closer to the basket more often. He'll still go chasing wings, and he'll still switch onto smaller and more agile players. But for the most part, he's staying home a lot more, challenging everyone in sight.
As I'm obviously not a member of the Spurs coaching staff (which is a good thing, as they'd definitely be going through a winless streak if I was) I'm guessing one of the reasons the team felt comfortable making that change was how Wembanyama, of late, has rebounded the heck out of the basketball.
Over his first nine games of the season, Wembanyama grabbed double-figure rebounds just twice, and sat on a modest 8.6 average.
Some readers might remember that the biggest question mark hovering over Wembanyama before the draft was his lack of dominance on the glass, and several people — myself included — speculated it might take a while for him to become a dominant presence on the boards.
Well, erhm, if "a while" meant 10 games into the season, hey I was right! (I was not right).
Over his past 13 games, Wembanyama is grabbing 12.2 per night, an average that over 82 games would fetch him 1,000 rebounds.
Wembanyama has noticeably put a larger emphasis on the glass in recent weeks, understanding how crucial it is for the Spurs to simply acquire possession. Who better to do that than the tallest, and most agile, player on the team?
So let's take stock so far.
We're now seeing a guy play closer to the basket, where his 8-foot wingspan is swatting and deterring everything in sight, and he's finishing defensive possession by cleaning the glass. Both of those areas at an elite production level.
At some point soon, we're going to have to ask whether we can even hold San Antonio's poor results against him.
Yes, he still turns the ball over too much. Yes, his long-range shooting is still inconsistent. Yes, his efficiency is still a work in progress. But come on.
This guy — again, 19 years old — is already one of the most feared shot-blockers in the NBA. Frankly, it's impossible to count the amount of times opposing players have driven towards the basket, only to look at Wembanyama rotate over, go "Nope, not today" and then dribble back out to reset the offense.
At 19, Wembanyama is second in the league in blocks per game and first in block percentage. He's eighth in rebounds per game, and No. 19 in defensive win shares.
I'm sorry, but the Spurs' slide right now just cannot be placed on his shoulders. Suboptimal guard production, inconsistent wing play and a weird minutes distribution to the best players on the team play significantly larger parts in their current play.
In fact, one might argue that now is the time for the Spurs to pull the trigger on a move just to elevate them slightly.
If Wembanyama is giving you 19.3 points per night, with virtually no guard being able to consistently set him up, imagining what he could do with an actual point guard.
For now, though, let's at least be honest about what we're seeing out there, particularly on defense. Wembanyama looks like a guy who will win multiple Defensive Player Of the Year awards, and we might not even have to wait long to see the first one.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.