Dallas Basketball

No. 1 Draft Prospect Victor Wembanyama's Connection with Mavs Legend Dirk Nowitzki

As Victor Wembanyama continues to make NBA scouts swoon with his potential, he's picking up some useful tricks from the same guy who mentored Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki for more than 20 years.

Dalton Trigg

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Although the Dallas Mavericks are thrilled they're no longer a bottom-dwelling team during the Luka Doncic era, one has to believe there are scouts within the organization wishing they had a shot at drafting No. 1 prospect Victor Wembanyama next summer.

Last week, Wembanyama put on a show in Las Vegas as his Metropolitans 92 took on No. 2 draft prospect Scoot Henderson and the G League ignite two times in four days. The hype from those games was something that hasn't been felt since LeBron James' high school days. Through both games Wembanyama put up 73 points in 70 minutes while displaying dynamic guard-like skills that shouldn't be possible for a 7-4 big man with an 8-foot wingspan.

Along with his raw talent and physical gifts, Wembanyama's mental approach to the game is something scouts are impressed with as well ... and that mental approach has apparently been enhanced by a familiar face that helped Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki for more than 20 years.

"Victor Wembanyama's serious approach to his stretching, flexibility and activation sessions should offer some comfort regarding his ability to avoid the catastrophic foot, back and knee injuries that have plagued other giants in his mold historically," said ESPN's draft analyst Jonathan Givony.

“After working with Dirk Nowitzki's longtime coach Holger Geschwindner, Wembanyama was encouraged to forgo a heavy weightlifting routine and let his frame fill out naturally, giving NBA teams and their army of performance and sports science doctors a near blank slate to work with."

Wembanyama still has a long way to go in order to live up to the hype that's been bestowed upon him, but he's on the right track by seeking out advice from the guy who helped Nowitzki reach his potential.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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