Victor Wembanyama is an alien. An alien, as the Americans like to say. For his third season in the NBA, the French pivot continues to impress his opponents, coaches and fans with his talent, his ease and his iron defense. Qualities which earned him to be selected among the starters for the next All-Star Game, scheduled for February 15 in Los Angeles.
Absent in 14 of the San Antonio Spurs’ 43 games, and regularly spared when he was able to hold his place, “Wemby” is nevertheless experiencing a contrasting season. But his statistics, often frightening, place him among the best in the league, which justifies this place among the five majors in the Western Conference.
Attack
It is a unanimously recognized fact: Victor Wembanyama is a complete player. An elite defender, thanks in particular to his 2m24 and his astonishing mobility, the Frenchman is also particularly skillful offensively. As the halfway point of the season has just passed, the pivot ranks 21st among the best scorers in the league, with an average of 24.8 points. A ranking largely dominated by Luka Doncic and his 33.3 points.
However, the two men do not have the same playing time. When the Slovenian spends an average of 36.3 minutes on the floor, Wemby only plays 28.7 minutes per match. Reported at 48 minutes, the total time of a meeting, the place of the Olympic vice-champion is located higher in the hierarchy, in 8th position (41.5 points). And if we remove Minix, Cryer and Green, who played less than 30 minutes in total over the season, he is even 5th.
His three-point address is particularly recognized. With 40% success for an average of 4.7 attempts per game, Victor Wembanyama ranks among the best fireworks in the NBA. He notably planted seven in the only match against Jazz last night. Despite everything, he remains quite far from Bobby Portis, the most accurate player (47.4%) with at least four three-point shots attempted per game.
Defense
On the other side of the field, the Frenchman’s contribution is just as impressive. Or even more. With 2.6 blocks per match, Wemby is simply the best in the exercise. He is ahead of another Habs, Alexandre Sarr, who is having an excellent season in Washington.
In terms of rebounds, the San Antonio Spurs star is in 8th place with 10.8 rebounds per game. He is ahead of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and several high-level interior players like Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert. Of his 10.8 rebounds, 8.9 are defensive, which places him second behind Nikola Jokic.
All this data illustrates it, Victor Wembanyama is a complete player. He proves it regularly, with 17 double-doubles (two double-digit statistics in the same match) and even 1 triple-double (three double-digit statistics in the same match). In these categories too, he is among the 15 best players in the league.
Enough to be in the MVP race? Maybe not this year, but his impact on the NBA and his talent have been unanimous since his arrival in 2023. And at 22, he should continue his progress, to become definitively unstoppable.
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