Victor Wembanyama is finally operating like the giant he is

When you're as talented as Victor Wembanyama, it's easy to overlook the fundamentals and try to do too much. 

Last season, the French phenom attempted 8.8 threes a game — more than Trae Young, James Harden and Devin Booker — and got to the free throw line only 4.1 times per contest, ranking 56th. Furthermore, he attempted only 1.7 shots in the paint, ranking 21st in post-ups.  

Even if you categorize Wemby as a unicorn or a guard in a big's body, it's not justifiable that he spent most of his time playing away from the rim. That's why Shaquille O'Neal and others refused to label Wemby "dominant," while urging him to use his size to his benefit.

Victor Wembanyama has reimagined his game

Those naysayers can finally rest easy. The 2025-26 version of Wemby hits different. 

In the San Antonio Spurs' season opener on Wednesday, he attempted only two threes while getting to the line 11 times. As shown in the chart below, 17 of his 19 shot attempts were within the 14-foot range, a drastic change from last season.  

Wemby's shot chart on Wednesday:
Less than five feet: 7-of-8 FG
Five to nine feet: 2-of-4 FG
10 to 14 feet: 4-of-5 FG
15 to 19 feet: 1-of-2 FG
25 to 29 feet: 1-of-2 FG

This version of Wemby will terrorize NBA

The scary thing is that Wembanyama dominated the paint against a Dallas Mavericks team with a defensive-minded front court of Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Cooper Flagg.

He could prove even more dominant in the post against conference rivals lacking quality rim protection, such as the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.

Will there be nights when Wemby gets trigger-happy and attempts a bunch of threes? Sure. He should do that when feeling good about his jumper. However, if he continues to operate like a traditional big man, it's a scary proposition for the NBA. 

Wembanyama, who finished with 40 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and zero turnovers on Tuesday, set a Spurs franchise record for most points in a season opener. He also became the first player ever to register those numbers while shooting 70 percent from the floor.