Author of 50 points last night with the Spurs, the Frenchman has confirmed his rise in power for three games now, after a complicated start to the season.
After a very good rookie season, the public expects more from him. Victor Wembanyama is one of the best players in the NBA and it’s hard to deny that, especially today. Rookie of last season, Olympic vice-champion with the Blues in Paris, Wemby gained weight this summer, literally and figuratively. Which perhaps explains his lackluster first encounters.
The 20-year-old pivot has gained 11 kg since his arrival in the NBA. A logical weight gain for a player of his size (2.21m) who is faced with behemoths at his position in every match. Now at 105 kg, the French prodigy manages to be pushed around less on the ground and in the air by his opponents. But his first matches of the 2024-2025 opus did not reflect the Wembanyama that everyone expects. A shooting success at half mast, a match against OKC with his lowest career total (6 points), the pivot did not yet seem to be at 100%.
Victor Wembanyama, the diesel
After two complicated matches, the number 1 of the Spurs had a great reaction of pride against the Jazz in the third match (25pts, 9 rbs, 7pds, 5 blq, 5 int). He then had to regain consistency, particularly in terms of shooting. Almost one game in two at 20 points, stats increasing, the rise in power of the first in the 2023 draft is very present. It took another meeting against the Utah Jazz for Victor Wembanyama to pass the second at the start of the season.
Since November 9, and now three matches, the French pivot has not fallen below 50% shooting success, but also three points. A statistic which clearly shows the awakening of Wembanyama, author of a career record of 50 points and eight successful shots against Washington, and more generally, that of the Spurs. “Our first matches felt like training camp. The goal is to win while growing at the same time” assumed Chris Paul, who arrived this summer, in front of the press on Monday. In tenth position in the Western Conference (6v, 6d), the Spurs aim for at least les play-in at the end of the season and if Wemby extend the performances of the last three games, it will be difficult not to consider the Texan franchise as a serious competitor to the play-offs.
2024-11-14 15:51:00