San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Impressed With NBA 'Scouting'

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has struggled with the physical side of NBA life a lot less than initially thought.
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA;  San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers. / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

With only four games left in his first NBA season, Victor Wembanyama has missed only nine games for the San Antonio Spurs and has not experienced the career-altering injury that many skeptics thought would derail his career.

In fact, Wembanyama looks bigger and just as strong as his opponents, and his flexibility has been on display all season, with injury concerns shrinking after every game.

Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA;  San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1)
Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

The physicality and size of the NBA, which was expected to be the main thing Wembanyama would have to adjust to in his rookie season, has hardly affected him at all.

"I would have thought that it would be way harder on the body, like the pain and everything," he said after a double-overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. "What was hard and I imagine was going out every night against great superstars and actually applying the scouting. The coach [Popovich] knows what he's what he wants you to do. Remembering everything, this was the hard part."

After playing a career-high 43 minutes in the most recent loss, Wembanyama is still taken aback by the in-depth scouting and studying needed to succeed at an NBA level, but the physicality, conditioning, and workouts have left him unfazed.

That's incredibly promising for a fanbase that knew they were getting a generational talent, marred only by injury concerns. Without any real worry that he can keep up on the physical end, Wembanyama and the Spurs can enter the offseason ready to put him in a position to dominate.


Published
Jonah Kubicek
JONAH KUBICEK

Jonah Kubicek has been writing about the NBA since 2021, covering the Pistons, Jazz, Spurs, Magic, Rockets, and Knicks. As a lifelong Spurs fan living in Michigan, he never misses an opportunity to bring up the 2005 NBA Finals (you should have guarded Horry!). He is a long-suffering Tigers fan and closely follows the NFL, although he never found an affinity for the Lions. Jonah graduated from Oakland University with a degree in History and spends his spare time playing tennis or reading. Follow Jonah on Twitter for updates on Tre Jones and other NBA news.