Last season, the San Antonio Spurs finished the year with a meagre 22 wins and while there was plenty of doom and gloom surrounding the organization, there was one positive to come from it. Victor Wembanyama, arguably the greatest prospect in the history of the NBA, was heading to Texas.
Wembanyama is so unique that is difficult to find a comparable players when looking back over the years. He has the height of Ralph Samson, the wingspan of Tacko Fall and moves like Giannis Antetokounmpo. On top of that, he can dribble and shoot the three as well as any big man in recent history. Wembanyama is not the finished product but it is fascinating to think just how high the 20-year-old"s ceiling is.
During a recent exclusive interview with Overtime Heroics, former NBA sharp shooter Walt “The Wizard" Williams spoke with Senior Editor Reggie Roberts about the rising star and his potential.
“He has been as good as advertised. He obviously needs to get stronger during the offseason and I’m sure the team [San Antonio] has a plan for that for him," said Williams.
Fans of 1990"s and early 2000"s NBA basketball remember Williams well. The versatile player made a name for himself at the Univerisity of Maryland where he shattered records. In his senior year with the Terrapins, he surpassed Len Bias" single-season scoring record, finishing with 776 points in 1992.
Victor Wembanyama in April so far:
22.8 PPG
13.0 RPG
7.3 APG
6.5 BPGNearly 3x as many BPG as the DPOY favorite Rudy Gobert (2.2). pic.twitter.com/mStt215Nc2
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) April 10, 2024
After a successful collegiate career, he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the seventh overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. Over 11 seasons in the league, he went on to play with six different teams and finished his career with a lifetime 11.8 points per game average and a 37.9 three point percentage.
“I think the upside for him is tremendous," added Williams when discussing Wembanyama. “Personally, I would like to see him develop a little bit more of a post-up game where he becomes more dominant offensively in the paint and not shoot as many three-pointers. That’s not meant as a criticism because the guy has had a phenomenal season."
just going to leave this here… pic.twitter.com/WtaQLFaR9P
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 10, 2024
There were some concerns about how Wembanyama"s skillset would translate over to the NBA but the Frenchman has quelled any doubts about his ability to adjust to the game in North America. Over 70 games, he is averaging 21.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and leads the league with 3.6 blocks per game. Impressive numbers considering he is averaging just 29.6 minutes per game. After his stellar season, Wembanyama is a shoo-in for the Rookie of the Year Award.
Williams, like most experts, agrees that the sky in the limit for Wembanyama. The Spurs will continue to rebuild and with the right players around him, he could develop into one of the league"s superstars.
