Victor Wembanyama: The NBA’s Next Revolution
It’s not always easy to spot greatness. For a while, it was hiding in plain sight for the Golden State Warriors. Steph Curry was different. He lacked many of the transformative traits that are easy to spot from far away. But he didn’t just need someone to believe in him. He needed someone to understand him.
Curry revolutionized basketball, perhaps the last truly transformative moment the sport has experienced. Until now. Victor Wembanyama is changing things. He shrinks the court in ways the NBA is still trying to fully grasp. He distorts game plans, skill sets, and comfort zones in ways not seen since Curry’s ascension. In just his third year, Wembanyama has already become the next basketball revolution.
Learning ‘Wemby’: The Spurs’ Journey
The San Antonio Spurs’ task this season hasn’t been just to play well around Wembanyama. It was to learn him. It was to help him understand himself. That’s a journey Curry knows better than anyone.
“It’s just a natural progression that you can’t really force until your talent becomes so undeniable in your style,” Curry told The Athletic. “And if it leads to winning, it becomes like a collective effort, unlocking it, unleashing it, and then you being able to uplift players around you. So it’s a two-way street.”
Finding Your Voice and Audacity
You can’t find greatness without finding your voice. That manifests in different ways – vocalizing in the locker room and on the floor, and playing your game without doubt. It’s about trusting experimentation and daring to do what nobody else is doing. Audacity is the fuel that propels great talents to unforeseen heights.
“That happens just because you’re not who you are without that,” Curry said. “Talent can only take you so far with God-given attributes. But he seems more vocal than I was at the time, like at this stage. And obviously, he’s the number one pick, so it’s a different trajectory than what I took in a little earlier development, but the same kind of vibe.”
Wembanyama’s Impact on the Spurs’ Identity
Wembanyama shaped the Spurs’ identity from preseason media day. He declared that defense was non-negotiable, and soon the Spurs boasted one of the league’s best defenses. He predicted they would be a playoff team, and now they’re in the hunt for the NBA’s best record – 58-18 after Wednesday’s 127-113 win against a Warriors team playing without the injured Curry.
“A team has a true identity built around you that might be ahead of schedule, and so you kind of throw everything you have at it,” Curry said. “To that point, his spirit, I’m sure, when he walks into that locker room, everybody has the belief that they can win. That’s hard to find, too.”
Building Around a Superstar
Harrison Barnes, who played with Curry on the Warriors’ 2015 championship team, sees parallels. “It takes a collective to recognize that, to be able to give space, allow Victor Wembanyama to grow and develop into whatever type of player he wants to be,” Barnes said. “I think it’s easy to try to sometimes pigeonhole people or say, ‘Are they this player or that player? Should we run our offense this way? Does this person have to conform?’ But I think over the course of the season, his game has evolved. He’s changed. He’s become more confident, assertive (and) aggressive.”
The Spurs’ front office and coaching staff understood this potential early on, building a team around Wembanyama’s unique skillset.
The Standard of Greatness
Wembanyama finished with 41 points and 18 rebounds on Wednesday, becoming the first Spur to post back-to-back 40-point, 15-rebound games. He’s torching opponents and setting his sights on the MVP award. He understands that the first one is the hardest to win.
“I do care deeply about it, and I think that all the greats that are in the Hall of Fame, or that are in our mind the best of all time, they have fought and grabbed everything they could grab early on in their career,” Wembanyama told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after Wednesday’s game. “If I want to make my spot among the greats, I gotta try to not miss any occasion. I have to put my name up there.”
Greatness comes through triumph over adversity, and Wembanyama is embracing the challenge. As the playoffs arrive, he’ll get to see how it all comes together.
“Who knows how it shakes out?” Curry said. “But it’s the biggest part of the journey that you have to figure out on the fly.”
Jared Weiss is a staff writer covering the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama for The Athletic.
