Victor Wembanyama is something new & amazing in basketball. The Spurs-Thunder Western conference finals match-up has been much-anticipated throughout the NBA season. The OKC Thunder feature the reigning two-time league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who looked like just another player on the court with no answer for Wemby in Game 1.
Victor Wembanyama is a problem for all NBA teams. His 7-4 frame, commitment to strength & flexibility, and basketball skill & IQ make him the most unstoppable force in the game today. Wemby is the most feared rim protector in the NBA since the era when Wilt Chamberlain was allowed to goal tend & basket interfere.
Due to his strength & mobility, Victor Wembanyama can rebound over any opponent on both ends. Wemby always wins the jump ball, and doing that twice in the Game 1 overtime win over OKC shows what an advantage that can become. The Spurs got an extra possession at the beginning of each overtime because Wemby always wins the tip.
It’s just another “not since Wilt” aspect to his game that astounds basketball fans. Wilt did it in an era where his only competitive peer was Bill Russell. Today, outside of the bottom third of the league tanking, the NBA is extremely competitive from top-to-middle. Basketball is also a much more global game, with Victor Wembanyama as an example of that coming over from France.
Victor Wembanyama obviously knew he was going to the NBA at a young age, so he learned English and did everything else he needed to do to become successful with his talents. The best comparisons for Wemby in the modern era probably start with Hakeem Olajuwan, Kevin Garnett & Giannis Antetokounmpo. Those players were/are athletic big men who could really defend the painted area, as well as close-out on perimeter shooters.
On the offensive end, you need to be able to score everywhere to be the best. Free throws are often an Achilles Heel for big men. I’ve divided a list below into two eras, with Kareem being the end of ‘old school’, and Olajuwan marking ‘new school’ for basketball big men. Here are their comparative NBA FT%.
Wilt Chamberlain 51.1%
Bill Russell 56.1%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 71.2%
Hakeem Olajuwon 71.2%
Shaquille O’Neal 52.7%
Tim Duncan 69.6%
Kevin Garnett 78.9%
Giannis Antetokounmpo 69.1%
Victor Wembanyama 81.7%
Only Kevin Garnett is close to Wemby in FT%. For the record, Nikola Jokić shoots 82.5%, but isn’t the active defensive force of Olajuwon, Garnett or Wemby. Kareem, Russell & Wilt played in an era before intentional fouling was widely used as a tactic on defense.
Conversely, an unstoppable force like Shaq in the 1990’s & 2000’s was fouled as soon as he caught the ball in scoring position and forced to make his free throws. If the targeted big man can’t do that consistently, then he’s of limited value offensively at the end of close games. Missing too many free throws means empty possessions for his team. That’s why Shaq needed closers like Kobe & D-Wade to win a title.
Jim Valvano at NC State in 1983 used NCAA Tournament pressure with perpetual 1-and-1 free throw situations for targeted players to great success. That rule was since changed, to 1-and-1 on non-shooting team fouls 7-9, and two shots on 10+. NC State upset Houston and won the national championship as a lesser team with that strategy.
In the NBA, Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls & coach Larry Bird with the Indiana Pacers created Hack-a-Shaq. Phil Jackson had three big guys he rotated in to foul Shaquille O’Neal and send him to the line. Larry Bird would have a player with no fouls (usually Reggie Miller) pull down Shaq’s Lakers shorts as a signal to the refs to call a foul away from the ball.
But you can’t do that if the big man shoots 82% from the line like Wemby does. He also shoots logo 3’s, can get to the basket off the dribble, and has unstoppable low post moves. He can dunk over other players with either hand. It’s hard for most basketball players to imagine being able to do that.
Victor Wembanyama is a freak, and if he stays healthy will become the dominant player of this era. This is the up-and-down, shoot-the-three era. Defense & rebounding is critical as always, just in different ways. Wemby can close out on any shooter and at least distract them. FG% against the Spurs while Wemby is on the floor tells you everything about his impact on the game. It drops to approximately to half of what it is while he’s on the bench.
Wemby discourages shooters from shooting, and it’s hard to find stats that measure that, but that’s the case and it has a major affect on the Spurs winning.
For basketball fans, this was the most-anticipated NBA series since the Warrriors-Cavs 2016 NBA Finals. Everyone anticipates the winner of the Thunder-Spurs series to win the NBA Finals. Most thought it would be a 7-game series, but the truth after Game 1 is if the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder don’t win Game 2, they’re getting swept. That’s what Wemby does for the San Antonio Spurs.
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