There have been many interesting storylines during the first week of play in the National Basketball Association, but none bigger and more exciting than Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
The 7’5” center from France entered the league with a lot of fanfare in 2024 as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Now, in his third season, the young man they call “Wemby” is fast emerging as the league’s biggest (literally and figuratively) superstar.
Wembanyama has led the Spurs to a 4-0 record to begin the season, which is the franchise’s best start in seven years. In the process, he has given the fans one breathtaking play after another at both ends of the court.
In the opening night victory against the Dallas Mavericks, Wembanyama blocked a shot by Mavericks center Dereck Lively, then dribbled up the court and made a series of slick dribble moves before making a step-back 3-pointer while being fouled. He finished the game with 40 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
In Sunday’s victory against the Brooklyn Nets, he swatted two shots in succession, recovered the ball, then he proceeded to dribble upcourt to swish a pull-up 30 footer from the Spurs logo.
On Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors, he made a move into the lane and scored on a spectacular 360-degree lay up.
This is all coming from a 7’5” youngster who is just 21 years old.
Through the first four games, Wembanyama is averaging 31.0 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 60 percent from the field.
Wemby also leads the league in blocked shots at 4.8 swats a game. He also leads the league in an unofficial category I like to call “U-Turns.” That is when a player drives into the lane and sees Wemby standing there and elects to dribble a U-Turn back to the perimeter to risk not getting his shot blocked.
The Spurs will try to make it five consecutive victories to start the season on Thursday night when they host the Miami Heat on Thursday night.