Five takeaways from Victor Wembanyama's Summer League debut
Victor Wembanyama’s first game for the San Antonio Spurs was the most anticipated Summer League debut since Zion Williamson’s first game in 2019 - which was interrupted by an earthquake. Here are five takeaways from the No. 1 overall pick’s first game in Vegas.
1. He can really handle the ball…
The ball handling was on full display early with Wembanyama, who showed off a crossover dribble and some fancy passing. Twice in the first quarter alone, he hit teammates right under the basket with creative dishes. He’s going to need that if the league adopts the Hornets’ strategy of collapsing on Wembanyama with two of three defenders.
2. …but he’s likely to be turnover-prone.
One negative about having your 7-foot-4 big man dribbling the ball a lot is that there’s plenty of vertical space where defenders can knock that ball away. When Wemby went into traffic, he lost the ball multiple times. It might simply be that anyone with Wembanyama’s spindly frame is going to look awkward when he’s dribbling a lot - we’ve truly never seen that in the NBA.
3. He’s a deterrent to shooting. Even his own.
Charlotte scored only 26 points in the first half and while that has much to do with the Hornets’ shooting issues, it’s also a function of Wembanyama’s enveloping defense. On the offensive end, Wembanyama’s own shot wasn’t falling, despite his willingness to put the ball up. He only shot 29 percent from three-point range in France last year, so while he’s a willing shooter, he’s not a good one from deep yet.
4. NBA players are going to challenge him
Hornets center Kai Jones proved that players are definitely going to try and jam on Wembanyama. After all, anytime you can dunk on the No. 1 pick, you have a great chance of going viral.
And No. 2 pick Brandon Miller went at Wembanyama and broke his ankles on one matchup. When a guy is 7-foot-4 and gets faked out, it looks like his entire leg might be broken.
5. Overall he didn’t live up to the hype
Wembanyama didn’t have anything to prove at Summer League, which is good because he only scored nine points. It wasn’t just that his shot wasn’t falling. It simply didn’t look like Wembanyama was playing very hard.
He didn’t run all that hard, regularly trailing his teammates by a margin in transition. Wembanyama seemed somewhat disinterested when he didn’t have the ball, floating around the perimeter and setting very soft screens. He didn’t commit a foul in the first half, either, which for a rim protector in Summer League usually means a lack of involvement.
Is this cause for alarm? Probably not. Wembanyama was originally going to sit out Summer League, since his French team was in the playoffs until late March. Bigs also tend to struggle in Vegas, simply because most teams don’t have a point guard to get them the ball - and the Spurs have two shot-happy guards in Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham.
But it may mean the Spurs need to adjust their expectations for Wembanyama’s rookie year. Or at least get him a veteran point guard.
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