Spurs & The Victor Wembanyama Experience: Colossal Expectations, Major Concerns?
SAN ANTONIO — Welcome to the Victor Wembanyama experience.
With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, the San Antonio Spurs have selected Victor Wembanyama, a center out of Metropolitans 92 in France.
Not only will the French center be next in line at his position to craft his legacy with the Spurs, but he's also next in line to receive all eyes and ears from analysts, teammates and the media — after all, he's pretty hard to miss.
The 19-year-old stands at 7-4 and weighs in at 238 pounds, making him one of the tallest NBA centers to ever take the court, and — as the Spurs hope — one of the best.
But with expectations through the roof for San Antonio's newest superstar, there is simultaneously some understandable concerns when it comes to injuries or the potential of falling short of the lofty goals.
Expectations
If a 7-4, 19-year-old center with the ability to shoot didn't enter the league with high expectations, there would be an issue.
As mentioned before, Wembanyama has a tall task in front of him. He's not only working to craft his own legacy, but also uphold the standard that the previous two No. 1 centers set before him — both of which improved the Spurs drastically upon arrival.
Luckily and unluckily for the rookie, the Spurs finished last year with 22 wins, putting it on par with the years that San Antonio had prior to the arrival of Duncan and Robinson, leaving more room for expectation ahead of Victor's rookie season.
"I don’t know what he’s going to be," FS1 Analyst Shannon Sharpe said. "If he’s in between Tim Duncan and David Robinson, well [the Spurs] got [their] franchise piece. If he’s gonna be better than Tim Duncan, that’s five championships, MVP, Finals MVPs, All-Defense ... that’s a lot going on.”
A lot would be an understatement. What Duncan accomplished with the Spurs was something that the city had never seen before, but while it's no secret that Wembanyama will attempt to put his name up with him and Robinson, Sharpe's comparison was nicely put.
Others in the media weren't so nice about it:
"If [Wembanyama] is Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant or Hakeem [Olajuwon], that's a disappointment," FS1's Chris Broussard said on First Things First. "I expect him to be one of the best players ever — to have a career like LeBron, Jordan, Duncan, Shaq or Kareem."
Sure, he has the potential to be among the greatest players of all-time, but the question of whether its a fair burden to place on his shoulders is a different question.
Either way, he is not worried, nor does he feel that pressure.
"It's just basketball," Wembanyama said. "I have no pressure, no fear. I'm trying to have fun every time. You know, people have doubts, but I'm going to prove them wrong."
Frame and Injury Concerns
Wembanyama is extremely tall and extremely athletic, though the latter descriptor does look different for someone at his height. In fact, no other player has put-back their own missed 3-pointer before Victor:
Being as tall as he is doesn't come without concerns however. The last player to enter the league with a similar build was OKC's Chet Holmgren, who missed the entirety of last season after a wrong move in a summer Pro-Am league injured his ankle beyond short-repair. Holmgren is set to debut for the Thunder this season, but they've already missed out on one of his younger years.
Kristaps Porzingis — the Celtics' newest big man — has dealt with similar issues throughout his veteran career, missing chunks of games as a result of his frame. Even other big men with sturdier frames like the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis has become notorious for missing time.
Naturally for the Spurs, Wembanyama becoming injury-prone is a genuine concern, especially considering he's supposed to be the next LeBron James and the future of their franchise all in one.
But luckily for them, the 19-year-old has proven to be durable ... so far.
Last season, Metropolitans 92 played a total of 34 games in the regular season, and Wembanyama didn't miss a single one. Call it the result of his "active health" journey, which sees an equally involved Wembanyama and trainer Guillaume Alquier duo working to ensure his body is in its best shape.
"The most important thing is to have strength in the legs," Alquier said. "[That helps] to produce force to play basketball ... to play inside, to play [defense], post up and everything [else]."
As crucial as the legs are in basketball, Wembanyama seems to not only understand it, but prioritize it when training.
"I saw in the first minute we met he was very active on his own [health]." Alquier said. "[Wembanyama] wants to improve. He's really focused, trying to understand everything [we do]."
As long as the rookie can continue his own involvement, the Spurs doctors — who have already introduced themselves — should ideally be able to keep him healthy despite the much longer NBA season.
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