And here’s a 20-year-old phenomenon, playing more high-calibre basketball in the last three months than he had in two decades on the planet and he seems to be getting better with age.
Victor Wembanyama, once referred to as an “alien” by LeBron James, makes his only appearance of the season in Toronto with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, and he comes in riding the best wave of his rookie season.
The seven-foot-four Frenchman, overwhelmingly seen as a basketball game-changer, has taken off since the turn of the calendar year, right when most rookies are sputtering under the weight of the crushing NBA season.
In 19 games in 2024, Wembanyama is averaging 22.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game while shooting 49.3 per cent overall from the field and 35.4 per cent from three-point range.
On the season, he leads all NBA rookies in scoring, rebounding and steals and tops the entire league in blocked shots per game.
Rookie wall? What rookie wall? If such a thing existed for Wembanyama, he’d shoot over it and then block it at the other end of the court.
He was warned about the pre-all-star fatigue factor by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, heard the words and didn’t think about them again.
“He told me a little bit about it, and so, it’s not more complicated than that; it’s just hard to do,” Wembanyama told reporters in Brooklyn after the Spurs lost there Saturday night.
It probably isn’t all that surprising that Wembanyama took the information about what issues this time of the season would present, processed it and then dealt with it. It’s been that way with him since training camp, part of his development and ability that has impressed those who see him every day.
He doesn’t seem to be a youngster you have to tell things to twice.
“Really high IQ, understands the game intuitively,” Popovich told reporters earlier this season. “You explain something to him and he understands it. He’s just a remarkable 20-year-old.”
The only disappointing part of Wembanyama’s season has been the overall performance of the Spurs. They weren’t supposed to be good by any stretch of the imagination, but even by rebuilding standards they’re lacking.
They come to Toronto with a 10-43 record, third-worst in the NBA, and dragging the carcass of a seven-game losing streak with them.
The process of turning the team into something special is developing more slowly than many had hoped, but perhaps the Raptors will help them out.
Toronto owes San Antonio its first-round pick in June’s draft from the trade for Jakob Poeltl a year ago unless it falls inside the top six selections.
The Raptors currently have the seventh-worst record at 19-33 and would ship the pick to San Antonio if they stay in that spot, unless the Raptors get some lottery magic.
It lends a bit of intrigue to Monday’s game — does either team really want to win? — and will become a more prominent storyline as the final third of the regular season unfolds.
Until then, though, just watching how Wembanyama fits and develops and, at times, dominates will be more than worth it.
He’s capable of jaw-slackening plays — blocked shots out of nowhere, three-pointers with one giant step back about the paint, dunks and finger-rolls with one giant step forward from about the arc.
Truly remarkable moves.
“He’s going to change the game, 100 per cent,” Denver’s Nikola Jokic said earlier this season. “He’s already on that path, so just enjoy and watch the show and let the guy change the game.”
