The All-Star Weekend just passed (an uninspiring one to say the least), the first for the San Antonio Spurs prized 7-foot-4 rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama where he showcased his talents in the Rising Stars Game Friday night and the Skills Challenge as a part of the No.1 pick team, becoming the tallest participant in the history of the event.
Before the All-Star break, the Spurs were (2-8) in their last ten games and are in the absolute gutter of the Western Conference with a diabolical record of (11-44) with 27 games left on their schedule. Despite being on pace to post an even worse record pre-Wemby, going (22-60) last season, their rookie has luckily been everything they envisioned him being and then some.
There are numerous amounts of young brewing talents in the NBA taking the league by storm as the league is in a transition phase, with LeBron James nearing his way out as he talked about during the All-Star weekend, as well as superstars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant not far behind.
With that being said, Wembanyama is having a rookie season for the ages... Let's get into why he can be a top-10 player by next season.
3) Wembanyama is a defensive menace
What makes Wembanyama different from every other player in the league is his freakish length (8-foot wingspan) and height (7'4) on the defensive end and he knows how to use it. Wembanyama leads the entire NBA in blocks per game (3.2) and 1.1 steals per game.
He's 10th in defensive box +/- and a whopping fifth in defensive rating (108.4) as a rookie! His ability to not only block shots but alter shots changes the way teams have to strategize their offenses to gameplan around him because he causes so many problems as a defensive anchor.
Just watch his highlights against the Toronto Raptors whom he recorded a triple-double against with blocks! Recording 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks, along with five assists and two steals.
He had a possession where he blocked four shots in 30 seconds! Alien-type stuff. Poor Jakob Poetl hopelessly got his shot engulfed, as did All-Star forward Scottie Barnes, who got it rejected into oblivion.
Wembanyama is already an All-Defensive player already as a rookie and will make the All-Defensive team after the season. If his team had a winning record, he'd be the clear-cut favorite to take home Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie!
Despite his team's abysmal record, he should still garner some DPOY votes. His malleability and versatility are unmatched in the NBA, as he's perhaps the best defensive rookie ever and hasn't even fully come close to learning NBA concepts.
He's going to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards and has a chance to be one of the five greatest defensive players of all time... He's that special.
2) He's becoming much more comfortable offensively.
Wembanyama is a gifted offensive player as well, probably the most gifted we've seen of anyone his size in the history of the sport. To start the season off, Wembanyama wasn't the most efficient player, as he was still trying to figure out his way in the NBA.
Since the turn to 2024 Wembanyama has been much more efficient as of late, averaging 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 49% from the field and 40% from three. He's also doing that averaging just 28 minutes per game.
His per-36 numbers are those of a prime Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan! When Wembanyama plays 36+ minutes, he's averaging a staggering 26.0 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while also being a defensive anchor evaporating shots (4.0 blocks per game) and swiping away 1.4 steals per contest.
It's scary how good he is already offensively and he's still a baby just learning to walk in the NBA. Imagine once he understands concepts better, gets stronger and improves his long-distance shot more. ... Game over, because he's something we've never seen before.
1) Wembanyama is more than coachability
No matter how great you are as a player, there's always something you can improve on. As the old saying goes, "No one is perfect." As great of a young talent as Wembanyama is, he knows he still has much more to learn about the NBA game, and there's no one better to teach him than the master Gregg Popovich who coached five San Antonio Spurs title teams ('99, '03, '05, '07, '14).
Pop, 75, is the oldest head coach in the entire NBA and has been coaching in the league for over 25 years. He's seen it all not just in the NBA, but in life. Wemby's willingness to learn Pop and it being mutual helps benefit both parties.
"He tries to learn from us as much as we learn from him,” Wembanyama said.
That genius-level education Wembanyama is soaking in like a sponge from Pop will go a long way in determining the major progress we see throughout his career. We've already seen him take a massive leap since switching to the center position around December and it has done wonders for his efficiency levels on both ends.
With his dominance on both ends unlike any player in the league, and his willingness to be coached and get better, Wembanyama will be a top 10 player in the league. It'll all come down to winning and if he can stay healthy.