Grading San Antonio Spurs' Rookie Victor Wembanyama 3 Ways
As the calendar flips to December, the San Antonio Spurs are in desperate need of some wins. Their 3-16 record would be disappointing for any team, but for the team that landed Victor Wembanyama, every loss stings just a little bit more.
When the Spurs cashed in on a year of tanking and drafted Wembanyama first overall this summer, there were wild expectations. Some were calling him a bust in the making thanks to his slender frame, worried he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the physicality of the NBA. Others called him a top-10 player before he even played a game. Unsurprisingly, his first month has been somewhere in between those two schools of thought.
Victor Wembanyama
© Kyle Terada, USA TODAY
It is genuinely unfair to grade his performance so far with the expectation that he will go down as one of the NBA’s greatest players, but that’s the burden he has to carry. Due to the abnormal expectations placed on him, we will be giving him three grades: how he stacks up with other rookies, how he stacks up as a first-overall draft pick, and a final grade based on the sky-high hype that surrounded him this summer.
Wembanyama is clearly the best rookie. In his draft class, he scores more points per game, grabs more rebounds, blocks more shots, and racks up more steals. Oh, he also is fifth in assists. Yes, his team is not winning, but that is not his fault. The only other player in the Rookie of the Year conversation is Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren is a good player, but he is not a rookie, having been drafted in 2022. The only statistical category Holmgren has Wemby beat in is assists, and his offensive production has the benefit of support from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. This is clearly an A+.
Naturally, the first overall pick should be the best rookie. Compared to other great big men – Tim Duncan and David Robinson – Wembanyama is holding his own. He is right alongside them in all the major statistical categories. As for wins, it makes sense that Robinson and Duncan will have a lot more in their rookie seasons.
Duncan had the benefit of entering the league and immediately getting to play next to a Hall-of-Famer in his prime. Robinson did not, but he did get to play with Terry Cummings and Willie Anderson, who were both rather good.
On top of that, Duncan and Robinson were 21 and 24 in their rookie seasons. Wemby is still 19, and that is a factor. Solid A-.
What about the hype that surrounded him? There was chatter that he would make an All-NBA team, and maybe even win Defensive Player of the Year right away. Looking back, those takes were insane, but they gained enough traction to set a high standard.
Wembanyama is clearly the best player on the Spurs and the best player from his draft class. He wrecks offenses with his length and quickness on defense and routinely receives double-teams on the other end. He might not be an All-Star, but he’s close. Even with the high standards, he gets a B.
