Wembanyama vs Scoot: Victor Shows the Complete Scoring Package

If there were questions around Victor Wembanyama’s offensive game and position as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft before the exhibition games against the G League Ignite, they have been answered.

The best prospect to come out of France came on American soil last week and exceeded expectations. That might seem impossible for a player who has been tagged as a “generational talent."

The defensive impact has always been known with Wembanyama, but the offensive package he displayed was even better and more vast than many realized.

We have seen players over 7-foot tall knock down 3-pointers, but Wembanyama is making them in ways that we have only seen from a few NBA players, and never from a player who's 7-foot-5.

He can do the simple pick and pop or catch and shoot which is very valuable with his release point. And he doesn't stop there.

He can go off the dribble to his left or right. He was making shots with movement in transition with a one or two-step going left to right or right to left.

It was in the second of the two games versus the Ignite where Wembanyama really wowed with a right corner three off the dribble while having to turn his lower body and pull up variety 3-pointers from well beyond the line that showed off his range.

Wembanyama does not settle for just being a stretch big, though. Again, we have seen taller players being able to stretch the floor and knock down shots.

Wembanyama is able to take his offensive game inside the 3-point line as well. His mid-post and mid-range game is truly fun to watch.

He has already shown multiple instances of the Kevin Durant swipe-through to draw fouls and force defenders hands away from his body. This allows him to get into a square up jump shot anytime he wants, which is essentially unblockable, let alone contestable.

Wembanyama continued to push the boundaries of what we knew about his offensive game as he knocked down a fade away jumper after recognizing the double team coming. The full package continued with a face up step back, a quick baseline spin, and even a shoulder shimmy into another fade away.

Even when he misses a shot you can’t help but be intrigued and confident in this young man’s potential and growth.

The part of Wembanyama’s offensive package that still needs the most growth but definitely showed improvement since last season was attacking downhill off the bounce. The handle is fluid and advanced, for someone at his size, albeit a little loose at times. He has the jumper to force hard close outs but at times has settled for not continuing his driving line all the way to the rim.

While we should keep our eye out for continued improvement, he did flash a few straight line drives where he pushed through the contact for the bucket or even got fouled and got himself to the free throw line.

There are a couple other areas for growth that are worth mentioning, and monitoring. His overall strength will need to continue to improve for those straight line drives but also to help with some of his post ups.

There were a couple examples where he got knocked off balance when trying to operate in the lane. Not using his left hand on a finish or two also stood out where it seemed like that would have been the obvious choice.

It is not some overwhelming worry that could possibly keep him from being the No. 1 pick but just something to note and watch for through the rest of his 2022-23 professional season.

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