INDIANAPOLIS – Victor Wembanyama made his NBA All-Star Weekend debut at the Rising Stars event Friday night to great cheers as his name for Team Pau was announced. It didn't take long for him to get going, scoring the game's first basket on a pick-and-pop with Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski. Wembanyama had a big block at the end of the game, but it was G League Ignite winger Matas Buzelis who hit a baseline jumper for Team Detlef to end the game and advance to the finals against eventual champions Team Jalen. Wembanyama finished the game with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
“I wish we had won, but it's always fun to play against great competition and play with other talented players,” Wembanyama said after the game.
There were 31 players selected for the Rising Stars tournament, and Wembanyama entered the weekend as the favorite to be named NBA Rookie of the Year, currently leading all rookies in points per game and rebounds per game, as well as total steals, blocks and leads field goals. He separates himself from the crowd and makes his presence clear in the NBA.
Victor Wembanyama, right, of the San Antonio Spurs, defends against Oscar Tshiebwe, left, of the Indiana Mad Ants, during an NBA Rising Stars game in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
“I knew how well he played with him last year in France, but now the whole world sees it,” Washington Wizards winger Bilal Coulibaly, Wembanyama’s Metropolitans 92 teammate last year, told Yahoo Sports. “There is a lot of young talent in France and thanks to Victor and what he is doing in the NBA, a lot of kids are playing basketball now.”
Wembanyama has recently become the most anticipated player to enter the NBA. He has exceeded all expectations, but that is nothing new for the 1.90 meter tall Frenchman, who will also take part in the Skills Challenge on Saturday evening. All his life he had high goals and a different mindset than other players.
When Wembanyama was asked during his media release on Friday what his 12-year-old self would say about his first NBA All-Star Weekend, he replied: “I would have said something like, 'Why not sooner? What took you so long?' When I was a kid, my goal was to go to the 2016 Olympics [French] National team, so unfortunately I'm a little late. I had high expectations for myself from a young age.”
Coach Tim Martin, who has also worked with Dwyane Wade, Tyrese Maxey and Trae Young, has worked with Wembanyama since 2020 and recognized his unique mindset early on. Martin made an early prediction about what immediate impact Wembanyama would have on the NBA, telling Yahoo Sports in November 2022: “If Victor were in the NBA today, he would be the best defensive player in the league. On the ball he can switch, he can drop deep, shoot the gap, everything. He probably changes 40% of the shots he takes on the court.”
He wasn't wrong. Wembanyama leads all NBA players with 156 blocks in 49 games and leads all rookies with 56 steals. To put these numbers in perspective, in Rudy Gobert's 2018 Defensive Player of the Year season, he recorded 129 blocks and 44 steals for the entire season. Wembanyama has done things this season that no other player in the league can.
“His whole thought process is so methodical, he's so present and he breaks down the game unlike any other player I've ever worked with,” Martin recently told Yahoo Sports. “He wants to go through the process, and for him, the way he learns the most is by understanding each step and knowing what it takes to become one of the best in the game.”
There were definitely growing pains in his first season with Spurs. San Antonio has the third-worst record in the NBA (11-44) and his teammates have struggled at times to find him for easy balls. It might be difficult for Wembanyama to stay in the moment and slowly grow in a rebuild rather than looking ahead to what the franchise might look like in a few years. But that's apparently what he was made for.
“I’ve been told my whole life never to skip steps,” Wembanyama said. “Right now I’m just a student of this league. Expectations continue to rise throughout the season, so there is no reason to change anything about what I do. I hope it stays that way in the coming years because “We want to be in the playoffs soon and win.”
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Wembanyama is currently averaging 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 3.2 assists in 28.4 minutes per game. He recorded his second triple-double of the season in a win over the Toronto Raptors on February 12, recording 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in just 29 minutes of play.
“I didn’t expect him to do so much despite playing less than 30 minutes a game,” Martin said. “No one could have predicted this and that is what sets him apart from everyone else. The fact that Victor can do what he does in less than 30 minutes per game has never happened before.”
During LeBron James' rookie year in 2004, he averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 39.5 minutes. James is now in his 21st season and has been named an All-Star 20 times. It's entirely possible that Wembanyama could have a similarly successful career.
Wembanyama thrives on pressure and whatever others think is possible, he has higher goals for himself. In his first year participating in All-Star Weekend, he's already thinking about his next big goal.
“There have been a lot of great experiences so far,” said Wembanyama. “I just play the Rising Stars game and everything.” He paused for a moment and smiled. “And hopefully the big game next year.”