Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Has High Praise For Spurs Rookie Victor Wembanyama

San Antonio Spurs No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama makes his debut at Kaseya Center in Miami Wednesday
Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Has High Praise For Spurs Rookie Victor Wembanyama
Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Has High Praise For Spurs Rookie Victor Wembanyama /
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Not since LeBron James in 2003 has a player entered the NBA with this much hype. 

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama arrived with high expectations when he was drafted last June. So far, he's lived up to ever bit of them. 

He makes his debut at Kaseya Center when the Spurs play the Heat Wednesday night. 

"You certainly see the highlights it seems like every single day," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's in an environment and a program where all the fundamentals, all the intangibles that lead to winning, those things are being stressed day in, day out. So you definitely see improvement." 

The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama is averaging 20.4 points, 10. 2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and a league-high 3.1 blocks. He is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year despite playing for the sputtering Spurs, who are last in the Western Conference with a record of 10-40. 

"It's on both sides of the floor," Spoelstra said. "He can really impact the game defensively, just at the rim and changing what you do. We'll have to make intelligent decisions when we get in there." 

Spoelstra only expects Wembanyama to improve with time, especially learning under legendary coach Gregg Popovich. 

"I'm sure he has to earn his minutes even with all the hype," Spoelstra said. "He also, it seemed like, wanted to be part of that program. That says a lot about him as well." 

Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren And ... Jaime Jaquez?

Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Fan Nation channel for Sports Illustrated. He has covered the NBA since 2010.

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here