Normally it takes a little while for rookies to adjust to life in the NBA. Even the most accomplished of prospects will need some patience exhibited so that they can reach their potential. That is what makes what Victor Wembanyama is doing all the more special.
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama was as hyped of a prospect as we have seen since LeBron James. A once-in-a-lifetime kind of player who would revolutionize the game with his combination of size and skill.
Living up to those kinds of expectations is not easy. But, in some regard, Wembanyama has outperformed even the most optimistic of expectations. He is already a dominant force on both ends of the court despite the Spurs’ lack of success overall.
Wembanyama can already stake a legitimate claim to being the best shooting big man in the NBA. What he is capable of doing off the dribble, for a player of his size, is truly mind-blowing. He will handle the ball like a guard and sink off-the-dribble 3-pointers like no one is in front of him as opponents can’t contest him at 7’4”.
Defensively, Wembanyama is already one of the most intimidating forces in the NBA. He leads the league with 3.4 blocks per game and alters several others. Right now, he is second in the Defensive Player of the Year race behind Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Every night he seems to set an NBA record, becoming the youngest center to accomplish something. On the season, he is averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals to go along with the league-leading blocks.
Just how impressive of a season is Wembanyama having? Reaching those plateaus is hard enough. Doing it on a minutes restriction, as Wembanyama has been on all season, is putting him in historic territory.
According to StatMuse on X, Wembanyama’s 28.7 minutes per game is by far the least amount of playing time to reach those numbers in NBA history. The other two players to average those numbers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and David Robinson, averaged 36.8 minutes per game.
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Already producing incredible stats, Wembanyama is doing to be putting up video game-type numbers playing 36.8 minutes per game. As long as he can remain healthy, records are going to be broken by him.
His per-36 minute numbers are already off the charts and he is only in his rookie season. Imagine the kind if stats he is going to record once he starts adding some strength and continues developing his game. The rest of the NBA is certainly in trouble once that happens.
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