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Victor Wembanyama Had Scary Comment About Just How Good He Can Be After First NBA Season
Victor Wembanyama believes he's not close to fulfilling his full potential in the NBA.
The San Antonio Spurs center, whose rookie year came to an end after he sat out the team's final game of the regular season against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, lived up to the billing that came with his selection as the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft — and then some.
Wembanyama is the presumptive winner of the NBA's Rookie of the Year award after he authored a historic first year in the league, yet the French big man believes the best is yet to come, a sentiment he expressed to journalist Theo Quintard.
Wemby believes he's nowhere near his peak 😳🤯
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 15, 2024
(via @TheoQuintard) pic.twitter.com/2X9ZGBqO9F
That is a scary preposition for the NBA, considering that Wembanyama already produced averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game while becoming the first player in league history to record 1500-plus points, 250-plus blocks and 100-plus made three-pointers in a season.
In other words, the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama is already a handful for opposing teams. But it's also not a stretch to think that he could become even better as he continues to learn the pro game.
That's excellent news for the Spurs, who struggled mightily despite Wembanyama's best efforts, and terrible news for San Antonio's rivals in the Western Conference.
Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.