Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs coach) : “ (Victor) Wembanyama was very “malleable” and agreed to expand his role, to broaden his game, both defensively and offensively. I’m not sure, you should ask him if he intended to be the best player in the league in terms of blocks when he arrived. But, you know, it was a requirement. We wanted him to be at the basket, getting rebounds and blocking shots.
He likes three-point shots. So it’s not exactly what he expected from me at the start. But he’s a competitor, he wants to win. Obviously he’s talented. But I had to show him that he was gifted in more ways than he thought. Developing his game was really a priority. So he made me understand that he had Tim Duncan qualities, namely an innate basketball IQ and the desire to become the best. And, you know, you have to be with someone… Anyone can tell you anything about a player, but you have to be with him to understand his instincts, his mentality, his philosophy, what makes him vibrates. With time and experience, as a good student, he improves in all these areas. There are people you can do that with and who never learn. He absorbs everything. »
