Victor Wembanyama’s second year with the San Antonio Spurs was supposed to see significant development from the roster. The Frenchman is slowly getting more used to how the world’s most popular pro basketball league while playing with Chris Paul, one of the association’s most decorated point guards, helping him get through the ropes.
However, the season hasn’t been easy for Wemby nor the Spurs. While their 3-4 start to the season is somewhat expected, Gregg Popovich’s sudden illness puts a huge question mark on how the season would pan out for the Silver and Black without their longtime tactician on the sidelines.
Popovich’s absence and Wemby’s inexperience were highlighted after they failed to stop a Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers team from mounting an incredible comeback to win their first game at their brand-new home stadium.
If Spurs fans feel frustrated with their team’s current state, Wemby’s performance should provide a nice consolation.
Victor Wembanyama puts on a near triple-double during the Spurs’ loss to the Clippers
The Spurs’ 104-113 loss to the Clippers may have been a bitter pill to swallow as they held the lead for much of the game. However, ESPN highlighted an impressive individual performance from Wemby that would have been the talk of the town had they walked out of Intuit Dome with the W:
Despite the loss, Wemby had a near triple-double with blocks 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fSu55KIHRp
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 5, 2024
Victor Wembanyama is leading the league in blocks per game with an insane 3.9 average. While the number is far from the incredible 5.6 BPG record Mark Eaton set in the 1984-85 season, such numbers would easily win him the DPOY award if he keeps his performances up.
However, Wemby’s defensive dominance doesn’t mask his inefficiencies on offense. He’s been taking at least seven threes a game this season with a pathetic 22% clip from beyond the arc. His scoring within the three-point line also took a hit at 42%.
It’s clear that the Spurs want Wemby to become a three-level scorer, but maybe a change on their offensive approach is in order if they don’t want their star big man to stunt his growth on offense.
Fortunately, they don’t have much to do on the defensive side. After all, it comes as naturally to him as breathing.
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