Victor Wembanyama posts video that should have NBA opponents terrified

11 September 2023 , 21:19

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Spurs prospect Victor Wembanyama showed off his impressive flexibility (Image: @TheDunkCentral)

San Antonio Spurs ' 2023 first overall NBA Draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, has dazzled fans with his flexibility ahead of preseason.

The 7ft3 Frenchman, 19, took to Instagram to update fans on his progress ahead of his debut NBA campaign. Wembanyama went through a series of stretching exercises, showing off his unbelievable range of motion and agility, while also dispelling injury concerns.

Wembanyama even pulled off the splits and some NBA fans say he is trying to emulate former basketball big men Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Robert Parish. Both were north of 7 feet tall and did similar stretching exercises, resulting in professional careers surpassing two decades. "Shoutout to Wemby for setting up a great foundation," a fan said on X, formerly Twitter.

Another added: "I can see the little increase in muscle mass. He should keep it up. Need him to make a Giannis Antetokounmpo type of transformation by year 4."

Wembanyama's flexibility was also hailed as "impeccable" and "impressive" by others. The center's range of motion should terrify San Antonio's opposition. And the hope is that Wembanyama can fire the NBA franchise to its first National Championship in a decade.

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The last time the Spurs saw NBA Championship glory was in 2014. They did, however, win division titles in 2016 and 2017. Wembanyama has been hailed as "generational" by some of basketball's greats before even touching an NBA court.

"What do I think of him? Probably the same as everybody else thinks. Everybody is labeling [players] this 'unicorn' thing; everybody has been a 'unicorn' over the last couple years, but he's more like an alien," NBA's all-time points scorer LeBron James said on Wembanyama last year. "I've never seen — no one has ever seen — anyone as tall as he is but as fluid as he is and as graceful as he is out on the floor.

"I mean, at 7-foot-4 or 7-foot-5 or 7-foot-3 or whatever the case may be, [with] his ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot step-back jumpers out of the post, step-back threes, catch-and-shoot threes, block shots — he's for sure a generational talent."

Wembanyama has also already set himself ambitious targets and wants an NBA Championship ring as soon as possible. "'I'm gonna make everything to win as many games as possible," the Spurs prospect said. "I'm trying to win a ring ASAP, so be ready."

San Antonio and Wembanyama will play five preseason games to prepare for the 2023 NBA campaign. Games against Oklahoma City Thunder, 2022 NBA Championship finalists Miami Heat, Houston Rockets x2, and the Golden State Warriors will all come before the Oct. 26 league opener against the Dallas Mavericks.

Joshua Mbu