Victor Wembanyama bounced back from a dismal outing in the Spurs’ loss to the Thunder with a historic display against the Jazz on Halloween night. The sophomore center finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and five blocks in his team’s 106-88 win, and became the first player in NBA history to record two 5×5 games before their 21st birthday. However, the Frenchman wasn’t in celebratory mode and instead held himself accountable for his slow start to the season.
In his first four outings of the season, the 20-year-old hadn’t recorded a steal, scored 20 or more points only once, and finished with two or fewer assists three times. His all-around display against the Jazz was his best and most complete performance of the campaign and he believes it’s what should be expected of him every night. When asked about his effort against Utah in the post-game press conference, Wembanyama said,
“It tells me I need to get my standards up when I don’t get 5x5s because I am able to help my team in all those areas. It should be a consistent thing. As I have said before, it is something we must have, something I must have more often to help my team.”
The 20-year-old did not shy away from admitting that he had an underwhelming start to the season by his lofty standards. He believes he should fill out the stat sheet every night and every time he doesn’t, it’s a failure on his part.
Expecting to dominate every facet of the game on a nightly basis could be construed as setting yourself up for failure, but it also separates the greats from the rest. Wembanyama is already among the most skilled two-way players in the league, but his self-belief and accountability are further proof that he’s destined for greatness.
His performance against the Jazz is the kind of impact the Frenchman expects to have every night. However, he’d hope to shoot much better than the 4-of-13 from beyond the arc he managed in that historic display. Spurs head coach Greg Popovich’s admission suggests he’ll have plenty of chances to do that.
Popovich dismisses the notion that Wembanyama should be in the paint more
Through his first five appearances this season, Wembanyama has attempted 74 field goals, of which 34 (46%) have been from beyond the arc. He’s banking only 23.5% of his three-point attempts, a 9% decline from his rookie campaign.
His concerning shooting numbers prompted suggestions that the sophomore star should play near the rim more and use his 7-foot-4 frame to get easy buckets. However, Popovich has shot down the idea. He downplayed concerns about his three-point shooting in his post-match press conference and said,
“[Victor Wembanyama] is more of a perimeter player than he is a post player. We want him to be able to do everything, isolate, shoot, do the whole deal. We just can’t do it all at once. It depends on the situation and what is going on.”
The veteran head coach is unwilling to limit Wembanyama and believes he’s a three-level scorer. It remains to be seen whether the 20-year-old can live up to the high expectations.