Victor Wembanyama’s latest game-breaking skill is the quiet key to his ascension

NBA NBAAmidst the copious blocks and logo 3s, a more subtle aspect of Wemby’s game is redefining his potential – and that of his team

It’s an early evening in late December at the Barclays Center, and the San Antonio Spurs are about to play the Brooklyn Nets. The plopped on a folding chair in front of Victor Wembanyama’s locker is Wind and Truth, a new epic fantasy by Brandon Sanderson spanning 1,344 pages. It’s the fifth book in a series whose next volume is expected in 2031, which is the same year Wembanyama (a) turns 27 and (b) cracks the opening chapter of a prime that may be unlike anything basketball has ever seen.

Before then, Wemby’s achievements probably won’t fill a door-stopping tome, but the possibility cannot be ruled out. As the NBA’s leader in and wing catchWembanyama is still finding ways to harmonize his surreal physical gifts with an uncanny skill set, fearless intellect and competitive spirit. Even with so much time to reach a ceiling that might not even exist, last month felt like the first sustained stretch where Wemby’s hype turned into a tangible impact on victory. In December, he averaged 28.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game, more than doubling his free throw attempts from November. He finished with a true shooting percentage of 62.6, a usage rate of 32.8 and only six players in the entire league made more 3-pointers.

As the ascendant protagonist of the NBA, Victor is only mythological. A big man who was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the as a rookie shouldn’t be able to handle, shoot and move like a guard. A player who turned 21 last week should don’t go toe-to-toe with a three-time MVP or break everyone’s mind at Madison Square Garden in his Christmas Day debut. Wembanyama is virtually unprecedented and impossible to game plan for – a generation-eclipsing bogeyman who is finally shedding his training wheels.

But as he learns more about himself, basketball and a league he looks to conquer, the most compelling, functional and advantageous part of Wemby’s game at this stage is also the easiest to overlook: his demise. Wembanyama strode into the league with unselfish tendencies and a natural appreciation for getting others involved. But the ability to harness defensive attention and then consistently spin it into a positive result for someone else often takes years for a star guard to develop—let alone a center—and ultimately separates great offensive players from them. we will never forget. Right now, Wembanyama is showing why he is on the last road.

“I think it’s a work in progress because it’s definitely the next step in my career, you know?” Wembanyama said when I asked him to assess his growth as a playmaker from last season to today. “I mean, I want to make my teammates better, but I also know that I have to be more confident on the court to free up my teammates, to give them open shots. It’s definitely an avenue I want to fully explore. “

In NBA historyonly three centers (Alvan Adams, Bill Walton and Brad Daugherty) have assisted more baskets in their first 102 games than Wembanyama. In December he was average 7.8 potential assists per match— the most in any month of his career — and showed all the ways he can decipher defensive matchups and strategies designed to test his patience and make him think.

Some opponents guard Wemby with a physical wing or guard and keep their own center as a help defender near the rim. When he sets a screen or initiates the action, the defense shifts to take away a pick-and-pop 3, then either stay home to have him attack one-on-one, load up on the strong side, or hard double as soon as he puts the ball on the floor. In the post they poke and prod and front and do everything in their power to wear him down.

The kitchen sink cover is a response to Wemby’s growing threat as a dominant goalscorer, but his vision is starting to propel him a step ahead. “It takes time when you’re guarded in some of the unique ways that teams have planned for him,” Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “And I think that sometimes he’s starting to get a little hold of some of the patterns that you see over and over and over. Elite players can take advantage … and we’re starting to see a little bit of that.”

Effective playmaking requires the ability to react to the moment and make one correct split-second decision after another. The great ones are able to anticipate what is going to happen and process a vortex of turmoil without speeding up. It is an evolutionary step that is happening right now for Wembanyama.

“(That’s) how Luka sees things. He could drive, he wants to pick up his dribbling and he still has so much more time in his head. Everything is so slow. That’s what makes guarding Luka so tough,” Spurs center Zach Collins tells me. “You’ll guard him and he’ll look like he’s shooting and all of a sudden he sees something right at the end before he hits the ground. (Victor) seems to be doing it now, especially with the lobs to Jeremy (Sochan) at the last second. It looks like he’s developing that ability.”

These plays highlight the cause and effect Wembanyama referenced earlier: the more lethal he is as a scorer, the more havoc his passes will wreak. The best example so far comes from the rough time of the aforementioned matchup with Nikola Jokic in Denver, when he rose from 30 feet and had three (three!) Nuggets try to block his shot. That left two Spurs wide open in the paint.

A plurality of Wembanyama’s assists are to Sochan. His teammates were dejected of one in particular in the fourth quarter of a recent win against the Hawks. “It felt like it hit the ceiling, he lobbed it so high,” Collins said. “And to me it looked like a terrible pass … I didn’t know where it was going until Jeremy caught it and dunked it.”

“It was beautiful…” Sochan searches for the right word before laughing. “We’re both European players, so we’re not selfish and we really like and respect team basketball, and I think we know with each other that we’re going to cut, we’re going to screen for each other, and just read, react. “

Wembanyama is averaging the same number of assists as last season (where he showed real promise with some high beam wheel dimes), but there are contextual factors — like the various advantages of having Chris Paul as his point guard — that make it difficult for fundamental numbers to track his improvement.

He is inventive in the way that a person with access to new technology can accomplish things that previous generations could only dream of. His arms are long enough to wrap a pass around defenders who would otherwise deflect it, and his hands are big enough to cradle the ball like a grape, whipping untouched passes before the defense can blink.

Regardless of who is guarding him, Wemby’s eyes rule the game in air traffic. “He’s the tallest player out there,” Spurs point guard Tre Jones says. “So he’s able to read, make his move and can see the whole floor. When he takes his time, he can make anything happen.”

That means locating open teammates before throwing a line drive from one sideline to the other in the face of a swarming double team…

Or fire arrows at cutters while shooting behind help defenders who can’t take their eyes off the ball:

“He’s able to make passes that you really only see certain guys make throughout the NBA. He’s able to make pocket passes as a 7-5 player. He’s able to jump the court. He goes up to jump and sees guys in his periphery” Jones says. “I think the best way to describe it is that it’s just a gift that was given to him from God.”

In late November, Wembanyama cut up the Warriors with five assists in the fourth quarter of a comeback. He made smart decisions off the dribble, in one case driving left past Brandin Podziemski (a guard!) as help defenders struggled to cut him off – something very few big men can do – before lobbing a perfect lob to Julian Champagnie:

Wembanyama does a great job mixing simple, effective reads that come from exhaustive film study and advice from veteran teammates (like Paul) with extemporaneous ink of paranormal activity. But sometimes the sheer confidence endemic among budding NBA superstars crashes headfirst into the typical growing pains a 21-year-old suffers with enormous two-way responsibility. The results are unforced errors that Spurs will surely want to avoid. His turnover rate is currently in the 33rd percentile among all big men, and his 1.74 turnovers per game. game is second most among all Some are wild. Others would have been the right idea if his teammates had thought he would be bold enough to make them.

At this stage, however, it is Wembanyama’s willingness to be brave that matters. Having a franchise center that (a) can read the court and (b) wishes making life easier for his teammates reaps countless long-term benefits for a Spurs organization still not positive about the best way to build around Wembanyama. His game is protean and has uncertain advantages. He already leads the NBA in blocks. He may eventually lead the league in scoring. However, passing is crucial. It expands the list of players that make sense around him and reduces the types that aren’t compatible.

Spurs guard Malaki Branham mentions Jokic when I ask his thoughts on Wemby’s potential impact as a setup man. “It’s going to be crazy the way he sends the ball,” he says. “He’s going to get triple-doubles on a nightly basis, man.”

As the Spurs make strides to attract top-tier talent, Wembanyama’s playmaking raises a fundamental question that should scare every other NBA team even more than they already are: How could anyone see this guy and not want to be his teammate? “It makes the game so much easier to know that a guy like that who can potentially score a bucket every time does right plays most of the time, says Spurs rookie Stephon Castle. “It makes the game more fun, but it (also) gives our team the best chance to win.”