Here are some of the awards Victor Wembanyama received in the past year: the NBA rookie of the year trophy, a place on the All-Rookie team, a first-team All-Defense selection, three Rookie of the Month awards, and most recently, an Olympic silver medal.
While these are all impressive, they aren’t enough for him. Wembanyama wants more, and as the San Antonio Spurs star from France prepares for his second NBA season—after meeting almost every high expectation in his first year—he’s not afraid to express his ambitions.
“It’s the same for all of my trophies, team trophies or even individual,” Wembanyama said. “I love them. I really cherish them. But I want all my trophies that I get right now to be bricks to build something great in the future. You know, one brick by itself is not much. You can get a palace when you accumulate them.”
So, let the building process continue.
If San Antonio hopes to return to the playoffs this season, Wembanyama will need to be a major factor. Officially listed at 7-foot-3 by the Spurs—though he seems at least a couple of inches taller, and he claims he hasn’t grown—Wembanyama understands that everyone will be watching him this season, even though there likely isn’t anyone in the NBA who can match his height.
He was the unanimous rookie of the year and finished second in the defensive player of the year voting after averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, a league-leading 3.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game last season.
He is likely to be an All-Star this season and is already being discussed as a candidate for MVP. He’s also the favorite to win defensive player of the year. Only a few players have received this much respect heading into their second year in the NBA, and Wembanyama has earned all the praise he’s getting.
“It’s a matter of time,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “You know, he’s an incredible talent. He’s very dedicated as well. I think we saw that during the summer in the Olympics, especially in France when there were high expectations for that team.
The biggest moments are when he played his best, including our final game. I think that was his best game. But in the last two or three games, you could see him trending in that direction when they really needed him to step up. That was impressive.”
The Paris Olympics—where Wembanyama carried the hopes of a whole nation for a gold medal—was another chance for him to shine. He averaged 15.8 points and 9.7 rebounds, was named FIBA’s Rising Star of the tournament, and made the All-Star Five (FIBA’s version of an all-tournament team) along with MVP LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, and Dennis Schroder.
Wembanyama saved his best performance for the gold-medal game against the U.S., scoring 26 points. While his effort kept France close, it wasn’t enough to overcome the barrage of 3-pointers Curry made in the final minutes, securing a fifth straight Olympic title for the Americans.
It was another sign that Wembanyama isn’t just heading toward stardom; he’s already there, and the Olympics could be a stepping stone to even greater fame.
“Victor was great,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who observed Wembanyama in Paris. “He improved steadily throughout the Olympics and became very impressive. But for all the players who have participated in FIBA over the years in the summer, it’s always beneficial.”
Wembanyama draws inspiration from various aspects of the game. He admires fellow rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, a WNBA star from the Indiana Fever. (“When she was in college … she was the only college player that I was in awe of.
I’m talking about both men’s and women’s basketball. She’s probably the most impressive,” Wembanyama said.) He’s also eager to learn from experienced veterans that the Spurs added this summer, Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes.
“He works extremely hard,” Paul said of Wembanyama. “His ability to shoot, pass, dribble, do everything, and his defense … it’s taken some getting used to. We’re a work in progress.”
As point guard, Paul’s role is to make things easier for Wembanyama on the court. However, that doesn’t mean he will go easy on him off the court. During the preseason, the Spurs held a table tennis tournament, and Paul defeated Wembanyama in the semifinals.
That didn’t sit well with Wembanyama. What he said after that table tennis event might reveal his true mindset as he enters his second NBA season. Simply put, when he faces a challenge again, he wants to perform better than he did the first time.
“Today, he’s the best. It’s not going to last,” Wembanyama said after the table tennis match. “I don’t have a lot of experience in ping pong, but I’ve improved a lot lately. So, it’s not going to last.”
He doesn’t have much NBA experience either, but he has made progress. The league knows what to expect. He was almost impossible to guard last year, and he’s going to be even better this time.
“A successful year would be a year where we don’t waste time making the same mistakes we did last year and we apply our improvements right away,” Wembanyama said. “I think it’s going well because when I watch everybody—and I watched everyone during the summer—everyone was working really hard. It just seems like it’s going to pay off.”
