The San Antonio Spurs have a special opportunity with Victor Wembanyama.
The 2023 NBA Draft Lottery has come and gone.
The night was full of both pleasant and depressing surprises, depending on which team or teams you are a fan of. That being said, the obvious headliner was never in doubt, to the extent that long before May 16 had arrived, the date had been given another name.
The Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes.
And which team won the coveted first pick in this year’s draft? Perhaps the best team for a prospect with the potential to be one of the greatest big men to ever step foot on the NBA’s hallowed hardwood. A franchise that has enjoyed a great deal of success standing on the shoulders of the giants that have worn their uniform, still led by one of the most storied coaches in the history of professional sports as a whole.
The San Antonio Spurs.
That being said, it is not a guarantee that Wembanyama will end up in San Antonio. The first overall pick has been traded in past years, such as in 2014 when the Cleveland Cavaliers traded first overall pick Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves. While it is hard to imagine the Spurs moving the French phenom, it is still a possibility. That being said, whether Victor Wembanyama ends up playing for the Spurs or not, many expect him to follow in the footsteps of the giants that came before him.
Assuming he does get drafted by the Spurs with the No. 1 overall pick, Victor will find himself with two excellent guiding pillars of the game, with a coach who will likely attempt to mold Wembanyama’s game to emulate in the image of.
On one hand there is Tim Duncan, a player so refined in the basics that he was nicknamed “The Big Fundamental.” On the other hand, there is “The Admiral” David Robinson, a freak of nature that tore his way through the association for 14 years like a 7-foot typhoon.
Two drastically different approaches to the game that both led to Hall of Fame inductions when each titan finally retired. Which approach does Victor Wembanyamas’s game embody more? Let’s measure this young giant against those of the past and find out.
The path of “The Big Fundamental”
If you ever looked up “basketball superstar” in the dictionary, you would likely come face-to-face with a picture of LeBron James or Michael Jordan. If you looked up “basketball player,” you would see Tim Duncan. Mind you, this isn’t a knock against Duncan by any means.
The litany of success and legacy he left behind more than earns the “superstar” billing, but Tim Duncan was the polar opposite of “high profile.” In a phrase, Duncan was all steak and no sizzle. He played the game the right way, and to an elite level that has rarely been emulated to even a fraction of its true greatness.
The cornerstone of his dominance was his post game. When “The Big Fundamental” found a footing in the paint, he was nigh unstoppable. The second he had the ball in his hands with his back to the basket, it was practically a foregone conclusion he was going to score.
Victor Wembanyama is similarly dominant in the paint on both offense and defense, and if he polishes his skills he could be just as effective. San Antonio and head coach Gregg Popovich would be the ideal setting and coach respectively to aid Victor in this endeavor. Additionally, while Duncan was not a spectacle on the court, he had a bag of tricks that could rival just about any big man. The way he used angles to nail bank shot after bank shot needs no breakdown. Just watch how the man played and you’ll see why this giant was crowned champion five times in his career.
When Duncan came into the league in 1997, roles and responsibilities in the NBA were much more clearly defined than they are now. As opposed to today’s game where being a jack of all trades is essentially a requirement, in Tim Duncan’s day, a big man’s responsibilities were to dominate in the post on offense, defend the paint on defense, and grab as many boards as possible in order to ensure their team had more chances to score than the opposing team.
As the first pick of his draft class, Duncan entered the league and became one-half of San Antonio’s vaunted “twin towers.” Mentored by the other big man who Wembanyama will be compared to in this article, Duncan would go on to average over 20 points and 10 rebounds a night along with nearly three rejections.
His efficient and fundamentally sound style of play would allow him to make more than half of the shots he took. Looking at Victor Wembanyama, efficiency will most likely be the most focused on aspect of his game, as the young giant is far below the standard expected of a big man.
He may be able to space the floor better than Tim Duncan could, and his physical gifts will also give him a leg up on the competition, but if the goal is to turn Victor into the second coming of Duncan, Popovich will have his work cut out for him.
The path of “The Admiral”
On the other side of the coin, David Robinson had as much sizzle as he had steak, if not more. At first glance, Victor Wembanyama seems to resemble “The Admiral” more closely than Tim Duncan, and it’s not just because both men are over seven feet tall.
Unlike the slow dominance of yesterday’s giants, Victor is the next step in the evolution of NBA big men. He has repeatedly shown his ability to handle the ball, which is one of the skills that made David Robinson such a force in the league. Ironically, while David Robinson entered the league earlier than Tim Duncan, yet his game seems more suited to today’s NBA than Duncan’s.
For one thing, David Robinson had a deceptively effective jump shot, which allowed him to continue to do damage offensively even without his back to the basket. Another part of Victor Wembanyama’s game that mirrors David Robinson’s is his footwork. While Tim Duncan’s footwork was also elite, it is much more ‘no nonsense’ than either Victor’s or Robinson’s, both of which have more ‘oomph’ in their steps.
Where Duncan would expend minimal energy and ensure his moves included no wasted motion, Wembanyama exhibits more exaggeration. His turning radius when he spins in the post towards the baseline on the way to the basket is wider. His shakes before he pulls up for a turnaround jump shot are similar in execution. The way he explodes from a dead stop into motion mirrors David Robinson’s.
While it is obvious it bears repeating: David Robinson was a freak of nature and played like one. Wembanyama has smartly leaned into this. Because when you’re over seven feet tall, why wouldn’t you take full advantage of your genetic blessings? As the old saying goes, “if you got it, flaunt it.”
The NBA is a land of giants, and even there Victor will be craning his neck to look down at the vast majority of his competition. While his build is lanky and slender à la Kevin Durant, the young man has shown his power on several occasions on rim-rattling dunks and reverberating blocks.
Genetics like Victor Wembanyama’s is not something that can be taught. But Gregg Popovich could certainly refine the young Frenchman’s play. I would also wager that defense will be made a priority. It has been some time since the Spurs had a dominant defensive anchor.
At the same time, they have plenty of young talents capable of shouldering the offensive load but could use a leader on defense. Victor Wembanyama could very well become that anchor. With his size and length, he could be one of the best shot-blockers and shot-changers in the league, and he would be able to grab a bucket full of boards to ensure his team dominates possessions.
Some final thoughts on Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama has not played a single minute in the NBA, yet already expectations are high enough to be at eye level with the young man and potentially even dwarf the French phenom himself. While you can argue how much of these expectations are unfair and how much are justified, the fact is this: Victor Wembanyama has once-in-a-lifetime potential.
He has many of the skills and traits that past giants of the NBA had which allowed them to dominate the league. And while Victor and the Spurs seem like a match made in heaven due in large part to the presence of Popovich and his penchant for guiding forwards to greatness, I feel confident in saying that barring anything unforeseen, Victor will enjoy success and make an immediate impact.
In San Antonio, he will have examples of two great big men to learn from. Duncan and Robinson may have had different philosophies and defining traits in their playstyles, but both translated to similar success on the court and over the course of their careers.
Neither would be a bad option to emulate. And according to Sports Illustrated, Victor Wembanyama will likely be getting mentored by the vaunted Big Three of San Antonio’s past.
Ultimately, I am excited to get the chance to witness more greatness in the league that has long since had my heart’s full attention.
For all the debates and discussions related to the NBA that frustrate me constantly, at the end of the day I watch the league for the same reason every basketball fan watches: to see the greatest talents walking the Earth do battle on the hallowed hardwood.