Victor Wembanyama rode the rollercoaster of NBA Summer League both on and off the court across his two games in Las Vegas this past week.
Off the court, Wembanyama dealt with his first scandal after a Spurs security staffer hit Britney Spears after she tapped Wemby’s shoulder from behind. It was a truly bizarre saga but it also produced some great memes and reactions, especially from Britney fans.
On the court, Wembanyama struggled mightily in his Summer League debut before bouncing back with an absolutely dominant performance in his second outing. Setting the Britney Spears saga aside, let’s take a look at what Wemby was able to accomplish in Vegas and why I’m extremely excited to see how he fits in with the Spurs this season.
Wembanyama’s debut was nothing short of a disaster for the French center, who showcased his elite athleticism and playmaking abilities but struggled to impact the game in a positive fashion. Wembanyama tallied just nine points on an abysmal 2-of-13 mark from the field, prompting him to say that he was lost at times on the court.
Outside of his shooting struggles, Wembanyama was solid, tallying a trio of assists and five blocks to go along with eight rebounds.
Although he struggled offensively, Wemby showed off the perimeter-oriented style of play that allowed him to dominate European basketball in recent years, relying on his athleticism and ball-handling skills to impact the game despite his 7-3 frame.
I was most impressed by his court vision in this game, especially on this play in which he brought the ball up the floor on a fast break opportunity, drew in a pair of defenders and found a cutter for an easy dunk.
Wembanyama was also imposing defensively, touting his rim-protection prowess to the tune of five blocks while impacting several other shots at the rim. My favorite play of the night from Wemby came when he blocked No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller on a three-point attempt and set up an easy look for Dominick Barlow, though Barlow was unable to finish in traffic.
Wembanyama was much better against the Portland Trail Blazers in his second game, tallying 27 points — on 9-of-14 shooting — while corralling 12 rebounds and swatting three shots.
While Wemby’s scoring prowess escaped him in his first outing, he showcased his three-level scoring and shot creating abilities at a high level against the Blazers.
He also did this… and I still don’t have the words to describe just how incredible this play was.
Wemby did miss five free throws in the loss, which was one of his only real shortcomings outside of an awful one-legged three-point attempt — a staple of his — in traffic during closing seconds of the contest.
Although Wemby was spectacular against the Blazers, I still have some concerns about his game. With his slight frame and play style, which relies heavily on his athleticism, I’m worried that injuries could become an issue for the Frenchman down the line. Although he has no real injury history prior to entering the NBA, there were a few plays during Summer League that made me hold my breath in fear of a potential injury.
I also was not too thrilled with what I saw from Wembanyama as a post presence, and while that’s not necessarily a prominent part of his offensive arsenal, I would like to see more from him in those situations when the regular season begins.
While Wembanyama’s summer with the Spurs may be over, as San Antonio will shut him down for the remainder of Summer League, we learned plenty about how he operates and how he’ll fit in with the Spurs and I genuinely can’t wait to see him play in the regular season.
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