That scout must be thanking his lucky stars that ESPN’s Tim Bontemps is an upstanding journalist who would never reveal his sources. The statement that Victor Wembanyama doesn’t impact the offensive end of the floor may go down as one of the worst sports takes of all time. The Spurs took down the Washington Wizards 139-130, behind the French phenom’s 50-point career night.
The way the points came was the complete opposite way most pundits have been screaming about. It goes to show there’s more than one way to be dominant in today’s NBA. You don’t have to stand under the basket just because you’re over 7 feet tall, and the Wizards learned that firsthand.
You can debate if Wemby is somewhere between 7’3″and 7’5″, but what can’t be disputed is the shooting touch he has at that size. There has never been a player in the history of the league with this ability. The Alien put just about every skill there is to possess in the game of basketball on display en route to a 50-piece at the expense of fellow Frenchmen Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr.
The Wizards did Spurs fans a credit by keeping the game close. In the first quarter, it looked like the Silver and Black might run away with it. To Washington’s credit, they fought back and kept it close enough to allow Vic to light up the scoreboard, prompting a flurry of tweets reporting the records he was breaking while raining eight threes at the Frost Bank Center.
Alright, you get it. Let’s put youth aside and just look at what he’s done compared to all players, no matter their age. He even added six rebounds, three blocks, and two assists to this performance. The absurdity continues.
The player who struggled to find his shot over the first eight games of the season can’t lead San Antonio back to the postseason. The hooper who just put on the greatest shooting display you’ve ever seen from a 7-footer can—he absolutely can. He won’t hit six 3-pointers every night, but he doesn’t have to. He’s found his rhythm, which means he can hurt opponents from anywhere.
He’s begun using his midrange weapons more, as the floor has opened up for him since the rest of the players have been shooting so well. That paired with his own shooting skills makes the Spurs offense a nightmare to defense.
When Jeremy Sochan returns, he has more space to cut to the basket, grab offensive rebounds, and wreak havoc—that’s his specialty. Tre Jones will add another steady playmaker the Spurs can rely on to make shots and defend at a high level.
When you look around the Western Conference, there are many good teams, but they are also flawed. Nobody is perfect, and the Spurs, with Wembanyama playing like an absolute beast, can bulldoze their way into relevancy.
