Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
Victor Wembanyama keeps proving he’s a video game character come to life.
It’s no exaggeration to call Victor Wembanyama one of the most hyped prospects in the history of professional sports. This website invoked the hallowed name of Lew Alcindor as a comparison a year before the 7’5 French wunderkind entered the draft. Over the next year, all Wembanyama did was win MVP of France’s top pro league at 19 years old and carry his team to the championship series. When we called Wembanyama the “best prospect to hit the draft since LeBron James,” we were putting it lightly.
Wembanyama put on his San Antonio Spurs uniform for the first time in a stirring preseason debut against Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder. For as impressive as that performance was, Wembanyama’s second game was even better — at times producing moments we’ve never seen on a basketball floor before.
The Spurs beat the Miami Heat, 120-104, on Friday night with Wembanyama leading the way. The rookie finished with 23 points in 23 minutes, shooting 10-of-15 from the floor with four rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. For as wonderful as that line is, it doesn’t capture the pure madness and brilliance of watching him play.
Here’s every play for Wembanyama’s second NBA preseason game:
Wembanyama’s transcent talent leaps off the screen in so many different ways. Measured at 7’4 barefoot with an 8-foot wingspan, the rookie is both the longest and tallest player in the NBA from day one. No one who is this tall has ever been able to move this quickly and this fluidly. His skill level is real, too, with stunning shooting and ball handling ability flashes that render an opposing defense helpless in his best moments.
Watch Wemby jump from outside the restricted area to uncork a left-handed poster dunk:
Watch Wembanyama come downhill off a screen like a guard, hit a crossover at full speed, and bounce effortlessly into a side-step jumper that swishes through the net:
Watch him lockdown the paint with his unbelievable length and shot-blocking instincts:
Watch him hit the full speed Eurostep in transition for a dunk:
And watch him spin into a fadeaway that is totally unblockable:
Wembanyama is a video game character come to life, and it’s going to be such a joy to watch him grow into his own. Well, opposing might feel differently. For everyone else, we’re getting to see one of the most promising young careers in the history of the sport start from day one. It’s only going to get better from here.
