{"id":254244,"date":"2025-11-01T09:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T09:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/254244\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T09:22:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T09:22:07","slug":"7ft-4in-at-least-of-menace-the-victor-wembanyama-era-is-already-here-victor-wembanyama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/254244\/","title":{"rendered":"7ft 4in (at least) of menace: the Victor Wembanyama Era is already here | Victor Wembanyama"},"content":{"rendered":"

A spectre is haunting the NBA \u2013 the spectre of Victor Wembanyama<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All the powers of the old guard have entered into a tenuous alliance to contain this unicorn: rivals Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and Anthony Edwards, the Oklahoma City radicals, and the one with the most to lose, Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a>. Everyone senses the shift, from the veterans of past champions to the new faces of the league. The Spurs are a basketball dynasty-in-waiting.<\/p>\n

The 7ft 4in (at least<\/a>) forward from France signals an inevitable domination. Armed with a guard-like dribble, Defensive Player of the Year-type blocks, and Splash Brother-caliber three-pointers, San Antonio has become ground zero for the next great NBA team. For the second time this century<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMVP leap\u201d talk no longer feels premature. Barring injury, the 21-year-old Frenchman will finish top five in voting while earning All-NBA first team and Defensive Player of the Year honors. How? By continuing to attack from the perimeter like a wing, reject screens while drawing contact, before finishing over other seven-footers like a dangling modifier. He\u2019s tighter with the ball now \u2013 quicker decisions, zero hesitation, smoother footwork, cleaner finishes through traffic. The neophyte tremble is gone. He catches, drives and dictates a dish or dunk. In the post, you can see the fingerprints of Hakeem Olajuwon\u2019s influence: jab steps, drop steps, and pivots with balance. (That\u2019s not an accident<\/a>.) On defense, he\u2019s warping possessions with an eight-foot wingspan.<\/p>\n

Against Dallas in last month\u2019s season opener, Anthony Davis thought he had a layup. Until Wemby unfolded from nowhere to erase it, leaving AD begging for a goaltend. Ha. Riddle me this: what do you do when he blocks with one hand, rebounds with the other, and is somehow already pushing the ball in transition before the defense can process what happened? What about when he runs the floor like a guard, draws fouls in tight spaces, and forces teams into panic rotations? We don\u2019t judge on how you choose to cope. Especially now that he\u2019s attacking the paint more, initiating from the elbow, curling off pin-downs, and punishing doubles with kick-outs. Prayers up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

As the Spurs build upon their franchise-best 5-0 start, the league is scrambling to survive. History has shown that generational stars need three to four seasons of lottery picks to build the supporting cast around their star. Thanks to a combination of shrewd discernment and luck, the Spurs added Wemby to the best young core of the 21st century.<\/p>\n

The Spurs had eight lottery picks in the last six NBA<\/a> drafts. Of them, only Joshua Primo has flopped. Rob Dillingham, taken eighth in 2024, was traded on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves for an unprotected first-round pick in 2031 and a 2030 first-round pick swap. Gold. The 2022 Dejounte Murray trade was another heist, netting three first-rounders and a swap: a 2023 pick via Charlotte (from New York), a 2025 first, a 2026 swap, and a 2027 first. A fleece. This summer they used the No 14 pick on high-upside defensive wing Carter Bryant, rounding out one of the league\u2019s richest young talent pools.<\/p>\n

Wembanyama turns back a shot by Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans during an October game. Photograph: Chris Graythen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The rest of their picks were used to build out the surrounding core of three-and-D, multi-dimensional wings: three-level dawg Devin Vassell in 2020 (11th), defensive switchblade Jeremy Sochan in 2022 (ninth), Wemby first in 2023, last season\u2019s Rookie of the Year dunking demon Stephon Castle fourth, and jumbo-sized table-setter Dylan Harper second in June. Look at that group. Everyone plays defense. Everyone can score. Athletic. Smart. Big. It\u2019s not hyperbolic to say it\u2019s the most promising young core in NBA history. Where OKC had a trio, San Antonio has a full-blown rotation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s early, but Castle\u2019s growing aggression has been one of the most notable developments. He\u2019s no longer just cutting or filling lanes; he\u2019s initiating and seeking contact. That confidence, paired with his size and defensive versatility, makes him an ideal connective piece between San Antonio\u2019s shooters and playmakers.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, highly touted Harper was singled out as the biggest non-Wemby standout of camp and preseason. His downhill pressure forces rotations; his reads \u2013 whether to finish or kick \u2013 show poise beyond his age. The footwork is polished, the handle holds up against full-court pressure, and his ability to impact the game even coming off the bench underscores just how deep this roster runs.<\/p>\n

With Harper and Castle complementing Wembanyama, the Spurs can toggle between two-big lineups and multi-guard looks, layering defensive switchability with offensive unpredictability. There\u2019s an emerging identity here, capable of adapting to nearly any matchup or tempo.<\/p>\n

Consider the poverty and pain that most NBA fans endure. For New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers fans, it has been decades since they last reached relevance. The Spurs were already the paradigm of winning this century \u2013 five championships between 1999 to 2014 from a total of six appearances, solidifying their hegemony over 15 years. After a generation featuring Hall of Fame-caliber players like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard, they now enjoy the best prospect since LeBron James in Wembanyama. No dynasty has seen such a rapid return to relevance behind once-in-a-lifetime talents.<\/p>\n

The other 29 NBA teams should win their championship while they can, as the Spurs will be a true contender starting this year. You read that right. The rebuild is done. There are no positional holes on this roster. The Spurs fortified the frontcourt with the summer\u2019s best signing in Luke Kornet, adding his championship experience to Harrison Barnes\u2019 Golden State Warriors ring, to add shooting, shot blocking and rebounding next to Wemby. Star big men typically see massive drop-offs in defense when they take the bench. Kornet ensures they remain formidable all 48 minutes.<\/p>\n

Kornet\u2019s intelligence as a roll man and soft hands make him elite in the dunker spot. We saw that synergy early this season in the two-man game with Wembanyama \u2013 defenders must step up on inverted pick-and-rolls because of Wemby\u2019s shooting and driving gravity. That pressure opens decision points: spray-outs to shooters or interior finds to Kornet at the rim. Bring two to the ball, and Wemby will make you pay. Pick your poison.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ancillary pieces like three-and-D ensemble player Justin Champagnie, crafty stretch-big Kelly Olynyk, and do-it-all bruiser Keldon Johnson round out the rotation. The team still lacks more than one dead-eye \u201csniper\u201d, but that\u2019s less concerning if they continue generating open threes through drive-and-kick actions. The real issue isn\u2019t whether shots fall, especially if their offense consistently generates quality looks. Some opponents, especially length-heavy and switchable groups like the Thunder, may try to flatten that creation by switching or staying home on shooters to test San Antonio\u2019s half-court engine.<\/p>\n

Last season, the Spurs shot a combined 39% from three on 29 attempts per game, a quietly solid mark that hints at latent spacing potential if volume rises. There\u2019s so much optionality in this system: layered counters, wrinkles, and inverted actions that simply didn\u2019t exist in previous years. At the matrix of it all is Wemby.<\/p>\n

This summer, he disappeared into a vegan monastery<\/a> in the mountains of China, spending 10 days with monks. Over the duration he spoke to no one, returning hairless, patient and planetary. Shit has gotten real. Last season, they traded spare parts for All-Star De\u2019Aaron Fox. This gives them three starter-level lead guards. Fox is currently out with injury. When he\u2019s back, what do those three-guard lineups \u2013 Fox, Castle, Harper \u2013 actually look like? There\u2019s real intrigue there: constant rim pressure, two-way guard play, nonstop pace, and, at minimum, quality guard play for all 48 minutes.<\/p>\n

Early results are strong, but not spotless. They\u2019ve jumped out to leads and watched them shrink \u2013 or flat-out vanish \u2013 against Brooklyn and Toronto. GOAT coach Greg Popovich\u2019s successor, Mitch Johnson, has laid a foundation that looks real: sixth in offensive rating, second in defensive rating and first overall in net rating. It will take time to mesh, but once they add Fox\u2019s pace, it\u2019s a two-man game that punishes every coverage: drop, switch, double, blitz, doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

What makes them scarier is the lineup flexibility. They have three dynamic guards that can mix and match. They can play big with Kornet or Olynyk and still spread you out \u2013 because Wemby can curl, roll, or run point from the slot.<\/p>\n

Defensively, new assistant coach Sean Sweeney has built disruption around his long guards \u2013 Castle, Champagnie, Harper, and Johnson \u2013 by having them pick up early, chase through actions instead of switching, and funnel everything toward Wemby\u2019s reach. He rises. He folds. He reappears. They\u2019ve turned the widely spammed \u201czoom handoff\u201d into a trap, closing gaps before they open. Wemby anchors it all, a deterrent and destroyer rolled into one, allowing the rest to press higher and close out harder, knowing the backline is covered. It\u2019s everything, everywhere, all at once. And it\u2019s only going to get worse \u2013 for everyone else. There\u2019s no stopping what\u2019s coming. In fact, it\u2019s already here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A spectre is haunting the NBA \u2013 the spectre of Victor Wembanyama. All the powers of the old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-254244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}