19 October 2023 , 13:38
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Victor Wembanyama is showing he's worth the hype in the San Antonio Spurs' preseason games, embarrassing NBA rivals with brilliant individual skill.
The French teenager, who was drafted first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, has averaged 19 points a game in preseason, contributing to wins over Houston Rockets, and the Miami Heat. The 19-year-old showed two pieces of unstoppable skill in his last outing against the Rockets.
In one play, the 7ft 3in center put the ball through the legs of Reggie Bullock before brushing off the challenge of Aaron Holiday. Wembanyama also played a no-look pass to an open teammate to shoot a three-pointer, leaving fans in awe.
"Like a good alien, Wembanyama with his eyes behind his back," one fan said on X, formerly Twitter. Another said: "He moves like a point guard."
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That latter fan's observation is something that Wembanyama has acknowledged himself, heading into the 2023/24 season. "There really are no limitations," Wembanyama said. "On a lot of set plays, on a lot of plays, it really depends on where you are. I can be the point guard just as I can be the wing. It doesn’t matter.”
He continued: "What is coming fast is all the information, the new set plays, the principles. It’s a lot, a lot of stuff I have never seen before and don’t know. It’s hard. You have to be focused when you are on the court because if you lose attention one second, you’re screwed for the next 15 seconds.”
Despite glimpses of Wembanyama's brilliance against Houston, a lesson is there to be learned for the Frenchman's future opponents. "We kinda got up under him," Rockets coach Ime Udoka revealed.
"We wanted to take away his space on the post-ups. He wants to settle for that face-up jump shot or fade away. So we used our strength to push him out.
"He's gonna make some plays here and there. But I feel comfortable with all of our smaller wings kinda climbing up under him and pushing him off the spot. Obviously, it's going to be a tough contest but you can be physical with him. I think everybody got a little bit of a piece of him."
The Spurs have one more preseason outing before it's time for Wembanyama to make his NBA regular season debut. San Antonio will take on the Golden State Warriors on Friday, Oct. 20. Their season opener will then follow the week after against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Oct. 25.