San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama: Rookie All-Star?
The NBA is not a rookie-friendly league, especially when it comes to All-Star festivities. The last rookie to get the nod into the All-Star game was Blake Griffin in 2011, although two San Antonio Spurs–Tim Duncan and David Robinson–have accomplished the feat. With another elite big-man prospect in San Antonio, there is already buzz that Victor Wembanyama can do the impossible.
Last season, there were five players who played either power forward or center who were named as All-Star reserves. While Wembanyama can seemingly play any position, his height means that he would be voted in as a frontcourt player. The reserves last season were Jaren Jackson Jr., Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis, Pascal Siakam, and Bam Adebayo.
In 2023, those All-Star reserves put forward an average of 21.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and one block. Only Jackson Jr. played fewer than 30 minutes per night, and in just 21 minutes per game in his two preseason appearances, Wembanyama is posting better defensive numbers and the same amount of points than his average All-Star competition.
Victor Wembanyama's defense is already among the NBA's best.
© Scott Wachter, USA TODAY
Unlike his competition, Wembanyama is more than happy to shoot from deep, and he is already an elite defender, putting himself on the same playing field as Jackson Jr. He will have opportunities to showcase his playmaking, as the Spurs are more than happy to let him bring the ball up the floor.
Granted, his preseason competition is not comparable to the talent he will face in meaningful NBA games, but he is showing that he can perform at a high level. The tools he brings to the league are unheard of, and he looks much more polished than expected.
"The odds of any rookie—even a 7'4" alien—making the All-Star Game are almost nonexistent, but would it shock anyone to see Wembanyama break the mold? He looks like a first-of-his-kind talent, possessing the size, length and instincts to dominate the interior and the handles and shot-making to render opponents powerless on the perimeter," Bleacher Report writes.
There is one thing standing in his way aside from his youth: the injuries. Not his, as he is yet to show reason for injury concern, but those of Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson. Alongside Steph Curry, Durant and Williamson missed the All-Star game last season. Durant is one of the league’s best players when healthy, and Zion Williamson has the potential to be as dominant as prime Shaq, as long as his body holds up.
With that added competition, the standard is set insanely high for Wembanyama, but he is yet to disappoint. The Spurs didn't have an All-Star last season, but 2024 could be the year.
