As soon as the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Draft lottery this past offseason, the primary goal of their franchise became clear – put Victor Wembanyama in the best possible position to succeed. Wembanyama was the consensus number-one pick, and the Spurs made that thought come true.
The 7-foot-3 big man has delivered this year, showing off highlight-reel dunks and jaw-dropping blocks. But while his affinity for social media-caliber plays stands out, his on-court impact on winning is clear, too. He’s still only 20 years old, but he already makes the Spurs so much better when he’s on the floor. The world is his oyster moving forward.
In addition to putting talented players around him, the Spurs should also be looking to help Wembanyama become the best version of himself. And so far, they’ve been doing a great job at that. (H/t Matt Guzman of Inside the Spurs)
“All of the advice I’ve gotten from the coaching staff, they’ve done a great job letting me know which mistakes I shouldn’t [make] through film. … We’ve gotten better,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve personally gotten better. I’ve adapted my game more to the league, and it shows.”
Obviously, there is more to the Spurs than Wembanyama. Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Keldon Johnson are key pieces moving forward, too. But Wembanyama is at the center of it all.
If he’s happy and improving, the Spurs are doing a great job, and it sounds like that’s the case so far.
Just imagine where they could be a few years from now.
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