Victor Wembanyama has been the center of attention for over a year now. He generated intrigue before he debuted in the United States, but ever since he was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs, the spotlight has only shone brighter and brighter. It’s pretty fascinating to see how invested everyone seems to be in watching the Alien succeed. So many players, past and present, have not only discussed his ceiling almost nonstop but also offered advice to the young man on how to go about accomplishing his goals.
The man with the eight-foot wingspan is something fans have never seen. When you combine his height and length with all of his abilities, you have a video game-created player. It’s unreal, and he knows it. So much so that he has mentioned a desire to continue doing things that no one has ever seen before, but retired NBA vet CJ Miles thinks that’s unnecessary.
If Wembanyama focuses strictly on expanding his game, everything else will come naturally
Wembanyama has lofty, all-time goals, so he needs all the advice he can get, and this may go a long way if he takes it to heart. As Miles stated, there’s no need for him to intentionally try to be something we’ve never seen before by trying crazy things on the court. His existence is enough. He’s already accomplished it. That doesn’t mean he can’t be creative on the court, but his willingness to go off-script needs to be natural, not forced.
Manu Ginobili went off script often. Many times, it resulted in spectacular highlights that Spurs fans will remember for years. Other times, he cost the team a possession, gave up a bucket, or cost the team a huge game, like the Dirk Nowitzki foul back in the 2006 playoffs.
Before he was drafted, Vic was on the record stating that his goal is “to be like something you’ve never seen.” Well, players, fans and pundits will all say that mission has been accomplished. Now, just go be great.
