Victor Wembanyama first playoff run tape
He’s probably already nearing his peak defensively since all time greats who are good at defense peak young on defense. That explains his insane EPM these playoffs. People criticize EPM but it’s generally reliable. If Wemby figures out his offensive flaws soon he will have the highest peak ever probably.
He’s probably already nearing his peak defensively
Physically maybe, but Wemby still makes simple mental mistakes. Jumping for pump fakes, closing too hard on the perimeter, and being in the wrong position are things he could improve upon.
AD, Bam, and Gobert are more fundamentally sound but don’t have the physical tools Wemby does. So Victor could very well become even better.
It feels like his offensive bag looks totally different in these clips (often beginning of games for the Knicks) versus the end where he made like 2,000 drives only to kick it out to the perimeter before even reaching the paint if KAT or Mitch was guarding him. He either gets gassed or just has some mental block. If he focused more on developing his offensive game in the paint (or at least actually drove into the paint to draw more defenders) it would escalate the Spurs offense esp as its currently built.
It’s a bit of both. As he said, he needs to be more durable but also needs to have the ability to have control of the game at all times like Brunson did.
He needs to learn to pick and choose when to be very aggressive on D so he can be more consistent on O the whole game. Having another big (PF or C) in the starting lineup can help that a lot but he certainly has lots of room to improve individually. As a lot said, a go-to move near the paint would do wonders for him offensively.
He’s not a point guard . I don’t think he’s built like LeBron where he can be a PG in addition to his role at PF/C .
I didn’t read what he said as he want to control the game as a PG like Brunson. More like the composure and poise and knowing you have all your gears in the whole 48mins. It was translated from French too so we won’t really know what he meant fully.
Not in controlling the game as in a PG style but more like impacting the game through choosing when to suddenly make a big impact play on defense / offense and knowing when to press and beast mode on the opposition and when to lift the foot off the gas and coast a bit. Also knowing how to lock in for the whole game ready to make the big play at any time.
I think Wemby is a pretty high strung emotional player normally with a lot of passion, it can be harder to control that and let it simmer than guys who are naturally cool and collected and then have to increase the intensity. I think his nerves were fried a bit from the intense OKC series and the pressure the Knicks were applying. Plus the cauldron of the MSG. Easier to get fatigued, easier to get checked out mentally and lose focus, make mistakes.
I just want him to set screen properly
Yeah if he sets a screen properly it’s like soooo hard for the defender to get around, his leg base could be so wide
Im ngl, he should literally never leave the paint and be involved in every PNR. Just toss him lobs all day. Hes the tallest player on the planet. He should literally score 25 a game on paint touches alone.
I get the idea but the “problem” with that is a traditional pnr is a bad way to get Wemby points. Everyone fucking knows Wemby at the rim is a bucket, so teams are leaving literally anyone else open to take that option away. Often, he’s getting tagged by 2 or more bodies on the way to the rim.
As an example, the Knicks went small in g5 for 2 baskets, and Wemby scored in the paint before they immediately subbed a big in. Teams know the roll will kill them so they overplay it. If you commit to playing that way, it’s maybe the most exhausting thing for Wemby on offense, the equivalent of pushing a sled for 40 minutes.
Now, if Wemby was someone like Shaq or Giannis, the answer would be to run motherfuckers over until they think twice about tagging. While Wemby has bulked significantly, it’s unlikely that his frame would ever support that. As a result, both he and the spurs are going to need to be creative in how they give him touches and attack the defense.
Would be great if he actually set a screen
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Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I think he’ll improve
Didn’t read 2nd half, whoops
Agreed some of the jumps on the pumps fakes were crazy. Like bro you’re 8ft. Just stand and contest it’s fine, that’s already better defence than 95% of your peers.
Yeah I think we will see the highest EPM peak ever in the next 1 or 2 seasons. I would argue that it would be even higher if Wemby could play less minutes. It’s clear that he often has less impact late in games due to energy limitations.
Which is why I will forever be thankful for this chip. People are still underestimating Wemby and don’t realize how overpowered he is
Yeah wemby was at 10.5 before the finals and still ended up tied with peak all time playoff epm 9.4 while having a bad finals
I’m kinda grateful people are sleeping on Wemby again. Hopefully that trickles down to the players and staff, and they show up a bit underprepared
I wouldn’t say that. Duncan, KG, and LeBron come to mind for guys that peaked defensively at an older age. It’s not just athleticism, it’s understanding positioning, opposition tendency, and the other team’s plays. Maybe their man on man defense slips a bit, but their ability to control the team defense greatly improves.
Who criticizes EPM? It’s our current best guess and seems quite accurate
Just need a PF and a center to give the big fella some rest.
I think this will always be an issue for him since he’s just so damn large
Yeah being that big along with being a GOAT-tier defender that will definitely continue to focus on that end means he’s never going to be able to play huge minutes and still be reliable offensively at the end of games. It’s too much for one person in the modern NBA. You either need somebody else for late-game heroics - which you’ve already kinda lined up with Harper and Castle - or an elite three-man big rotation to keep his minutes low. Ideally both, but that’s incredibly hard to maintain long-term as good players start getting paid.
It’s just so mind numbing how many times I have to explain it to people about who he’s always tired. On defense he’s roaming the paint and once the other team is in the paint, he’s going to try and block every shot. And if someone is near him taking an open 3, he’s going to try and block that because he knows just the idea of him coming is enough to alter some shots. Copule that with rebounding and guarding someone who is posting up, as a defender, you’d be exhausted.
BUT, on offense, he’s setting screens, he’s posting up players, he’s doing iso making use of his handling skills, he’s cutting to the basket and he’s also moving to get open 3s. And on top of that, the motherfucker can bring the ball up the court.
So yeah, for someone who’s 7’5”, that’s exhausting. Jokic plays way more minutes and he doesn’t do half of what Wemby does.
On top of that, the strategy is to have a body on him at all times trying to push him around. He has to do all of those responsibilities while pushing a sled uphill for 40 minutes.
I think Wemby will have better conditioning and better resource management as he gets older, but ppl are acting as tho he has asthma or smth in these games lmao
Giannis vibes but Wemby is much more slender than Giannis
Yeah similar, but even when he was DPOY level (because he was only playing 30 MPG and could go balls to the wall whenever he was out there) he was still only a help defender the majority of the time, not actually anchoring a defence. For a player of any size, it takes way more effort to defend like Wemby than it does to defend like Giannis.
I agree
glad we got a title before you guys get 5 of the next 10 lol
People keep saying this, but in the cap era you cant be paying a backup ‘rest’ center while Wemby plays 30 mins. They have Kornet, that’s about what they can afford. Then these stud guards will want to get paid, and if one or more leaves that’s the only way they can play a PF that’s finals quality.
It’ll have to be like us. Find a top PF that you can stagger with you star center and have them out there with the bench unit as your true backup center. We’d have Gordon be kind of a small ball center at times or at least be the constant so our bad backup centers had help
But that’s the exact issue for the spurs. They want to be perennial finals/titlists. Nuggets have been great but only won 1. They have to do more than the nuggets , lakers, thunder so far and outside of pushing Harper/Wemby duo and cutting some of their other soon to be high paid talent I don’t know how they do it
There are lots of ways to make it work around someone like wemby
I don’t disagree with that. But I’ve seen way too many comments suggesting they can get a great backup/breather C and a playoff level PF without changing the current team. The mentality that loading up the frontcourt without depleting their current back court is my issue
What the really need is to find an AG type that starts at the 4 and plays the 5 during the minutes Wemby sits. Incredibly hard to find that type of player though.
True. He’s about to sign a contract that will pay him $60m per year. He needs to be able to play 35+ every night.
Kornet is a above average backup, just don’t compare him to Kat/Mitch and Chet/iHart
Kornet looked almost unplayable for so much of this run, I think even the block he got on Hartenstein was off the back of a steal on him.
I don’t think Wemby can ever become a 48 min player, it will probably be his biggest weakness. He will need a serviceable back up centre and he should be fine
Idk how Wilt did it
the Spurs current holes are so obvious too.
- lack of an athletic, sizeable PF. landing an actual PF would open up so many opportunities for the entire team, and especially Wemby.
- lack of physical rebounding. Wemby is constantly having a hard time grabbing boards when he’s the opposing team’s prime focus when boxing out/securing boards. he’s basically forced to try and tip the ball to his closest teammate because he’s getting forced into bad positioning. Champagnie is the tallest player he typically shares the court with, but Champagnie isn’t a physical player. Spurs need a guy who is smart at boxing out and will fight to clean up boards.
- Kornet’s complete lack of an offensive game. when Wemby leaves the floor, we’re basically playing 4v5 on offense, and the opposing defense knows this. Spurs need a servicable 5 that can ocassionally be involved in an offensive set.
- lack of a microwave scorer off the bench. Harper’s increased production and Fox’s diminished production has left the bench unit offensively shorthanded, since Fox hasn’t filled the hole left by Harper. Spurs need someone who can help carry the offensive load when Wemby and Dylan aren’t on the floor.
as an example, if the Spurs FO can manage to sign Rui Hachimura, be involved in a trade that results in landing Bobby Portis, and sign Jock Landale as a rotational alternative to Kornet, the team would look infinitely stronger.
During the regular season, Keldon was a beast rebounder, but we all know he disappeared in the playoffs.
I understand this is his first playoffs, but i hope he figures out how to get it done in the playoffs.
Makes sense
Him being this impactful at 22 is scary
Yeah I’m seeing all these posts and vids criticizing him and his team so much but damn if this is how it is in their first playoff run, then what an amazing fucking run it was.
Can’t wait to see how next year goes I’m excited for them.
People are absolutely ridiculous, all the Wemby hate is mind blowing to me. The dude is an artist, that’s the difference. He’s not just a baller, he moves, talks, and behaves like an artist for better or worse. He’s the closest thing to Jordan we’ve seen, and he’s a damn gentle giant.
I’m just glad that he sent OKC to cancun. OKC getting eliminated has to be the highest upvoted post in the playoffs.
The Spurs got out coached.
and exhausted.
it was the right decision not to make some massive roster move this season, and see how this team performed in the playoffs, but carrying 5 unplayable guys (biyombo, plumlee, olynyk, maclaughlin, waters) on your playoff roster left them too thin. hindsight is 20⁄20, but they could have used one more guy in the rotation for this playoff run.
Yep - I’ve been repeating this comment constantly.
We were basically you guys in 23⁄24 before you signed IHart and traded Giddey for Caruso. We just happened to get further in the playoffs so everyone is complaining a lot more. (I wonder how different the media and reddit takes would be if we just lost game 7 to you guys instead and never made the finals).
Because give Wemby anybody else above 6’6 that is playable this deep in the playoffs and can take that physical load off him, and add 1 or 2 more mid-career veterans who have been here before, and I doubt Wemby looks anywhere near as gassed as he did.
Beyond the listed unplayable bench guys, Harrison Barnes joined that throng once they were playing NY leaving them even thinner. Tobias Harris is $6-7m more, one year younger, but averaged 14+ against the Cavs and 21+ against the Magic. Anything even slightly closer to that output would’ve been a massive help. They just had no size to go to.
And Barnes was a salary dump from Sacramento (for their Derozan signing) that brought across an unprotected FRP swap. He was brought in as a negative asset, and anything we’ve got out of him has been a cherry on top. But we improved a lot once Mitch swapped Champagnie into the starting lineup, and it became more and more obvious that Barnes is just too slow for the playoffs. When 6 months ago I thought we’d keep him on a 10M-to-MLE, type of deal, I think our offer now will be minimum-to-5M deal or just let him walk.
yup our fans were chirping at the trade deadline too
Kinda like the Rockets and their glaring need for a PG, we just never made the moves
Agreed.
I do think long term they will have some serious questions to answer as Castle and Harper get closer to their next contract. Both are really nice players but only time will tell how they develop, especially as floor spacers. Both are limited offensively as shooters, and it’s not a given they will significantly improve in that area.
The fox contract is what it is, and they will probably need to try and move him eventually. But even that may require them to attach a pick or player to move. Right now they have 3 guards all of whom can’t really shoot
We are not supposed to go that far in the playoff. That is why they did not make any move at the deadline. Objective of this year was getting to the playoff and see what we have on this roster, then retool. The fact that they somehow go all the way to the final was a surprise to the front office, that is for sure.
OutFoxed
And outplayed
Of course they lost so they got out played. But if coached differently, perhaps Spurs would out play Knicks. I wasn’t rooting any team. Just wanted 7 games. Knicks deserved the Chip.
I believe, and I know Knicks fans don’t… Swap coaches and it’s a spurs sweep. The spurs coach was maybe the worst I’ve seen in a finals, and Mike brown was money after pop’s first quarter plan was complete. Brown made adjustments like a great coach does, and Mitch was a deer in the headlights
Edit: Knicks fans might see this as disrespectful. It’s not. Bringing in Mike brown and kicking out thibs won you a championship. Saying your coach was better is a huge compliment and takes away nothing.
This is a ridiculously bad take lol
You think the Knicks win if you didn’t hire Mike brown and thibs was still the coach? That’s a hillariously bad take
The Spurs just lost 4-1 , thibs has nothing to do with this dummy. Theres 0% chance the series is a 4-0 sweep for spurs if coaches swap tho. The players were too young and not ready. Dummy
It’s crazy how people just can’t come to terms with the fact that the Knicks were the better team. They won 4-1, got some bs reffing and didn’t even play that great. Spurs probably get bounced in the 2nd round with a healthy Divo and Ant.
The coach is part of the team, it’s crazy how Knicks fans can’t come to terms with that fact. He was a much better coach, and coaching was the primary difference. Yall aren’t giving him enough credit
I give him a ton of credit, I resent the fact that you said he is the difference between a 4-1 win and a 4-0 loss. What you are implying is the spurs players are better and it was just coaching, which it wasn’t. The Knicks players and coaching were all better.
bulls are still competing if micheal jordan is forever 28 years old. its a dumb thought practice, if Fox never hurts his ankle does he ever go cold, does he end up having a great finals instead. why bring it up, it isn’t reality.
You are right. Spurs lose earlier to healthier west teams
it’s fun to hate on Wemby now but he’s an amazing player and i can’t wait to see how he develops his game. the league is in good hands
These are the golden years, hes only gonna get better from an overall bbiq perspective, but there won’t be a ton of these hyper athletic years of wemby i dont think. would be ecstatic if im wrong.
I wish I could be truly neutral and just enjoy his greatness. What an insane rival for OKC. Hope both teams meet in the WCF for years to come
We’ve been rivals since the 2010’s and I admit I always felt scared facing your team since we got semi-swept in 2012. They were just a bad matchup on that old-ass core. Still grateful we made it to two finals and won one last time for the trio.during that stretch.
I wish I could be a fan of one of the best teams in the NBA
I don’t see who else in the west can enter that conversation. It’s going to be thunder and spurs in the wcf for the next 3–4 years
I’ll be happy to watch the Spurs flame out early moving forward
The Spurs have a starting 5 (replace Fox with Harper) to compete with, they just need bench depth.
They dont have anyone who can play the 4 with any kind of size.
PJ Washington you are a San Antonio Spur
He would be a great fit, i just have a hunce he is gonna generate interest from a lot of teams and will the price be at a spot they are comfortable with
PJ is a 3, no? We need someone bigger, realistically someone like naz reid, bobby portis, aaron gordon or john collins. Unrealistically, Lauri markkannen or KD would be a perfect fit.
kd would be a horrible fit lol
Isn’t that why they cut Sochan?
They traded him because his offensive game never developed and teams just doubled Wemby while he was in the corner.
*waived him
nobody wanted him in a trade
My fault you’re right
If he can learn how to be a defensive specialist and keep improving his passing, maybe he can fill a draymond esque role somewhere.
Carter with a decent guard and stretch 5 off the bench could be enough especially if they trade keldon for a decently better player
It’s disappointing because we had the 6th man of the year and what many said was one of the best off season pickups in Kornet, but the lights seemed too bright for them in the playoffs. When Wemby and Fox missed stretches this year we continued to win because we were ‘deep’.
If Wemby stays healthy, some of these predictions might actually look conservative.
All these brunson nut huggers out here - which is cool - but also wemby bashers which just shows little boys don’t watch the game or know it Wemby in 3 years - wcf mvp, dpoy, 3rd in mvp voting. Two all stars
Brunson in first 3 years 9 ppg 3 asts 8 ppg 3 asts 12.6 ppg and 3.5 asts
Like it takes time to hit your peak which is what Brunson is doing now. All these little boys making posts about how wemby is trash lol. Wemby in his rookie year 21 ppg 3.9 ASTs, 10.6 rpg, and 3.6 blocks.
Brunson didn’t avg more points than wemby until his 5 th year. He only averaged as many asts as wemby did his rookie year once. And he’s a guard
No they’re not in the same realm as far as career trajectory. Brunson is having a moment. Wemby is batting for best. Ever.
I don’t think many people are actually calling Wemby trash. The pushback is mostly against crowning someone too early.
That said, comparing Wemby’s first three years to Brunson’s doesn’t really make sense. Brunson was a second-round pick who developed into a star much later, while Wemby entered the league as one of the most hyped prospects ever.
Wemby’s trajectory is obviously on a different level. The real question isn’t whether he’ll be better than Brunson, it’s whether he can stay healthy and keep improving enough to reach the all-time great conversation.
I’m always surprised Brunson didn’t make more of a splash with his pre-nba accolades, I swear if he was 3 inches taller they would have hailed him as the second coming of Jesus.
Brunson giving hope to short kings everywhere.
No one can call wemby a trash player. But he does deserve to be called out on his trash attitude. That’s gonna be the penultimate limit to how he develops; obvs health is the ultimate limit for all players.
You’d be surprised that a HUGE portion of nba “fans” are just people who watch dunks and crossovers on tiktok/reels, or they just watch the “top 10 highlights” on youtube.
This is correct. It’s the reason that half of the nba fans thought Ja Morant was better than Brunson until this year. Or the reason Nets fans maintained that Cam Thomas was better than Brunson until Thomas got cut.
The USA sports culture in general has an insane height/athleticism bias to the point where it rendered a two-time NCAA champion and national player of the year into a second round pick.
Thank you for the upload and refresher, this sub was making me feel like he was a bum lately. Can’t wait for next season to start now
Man sometimes we forget it’s his first playoff run wowza
And, in all likelihood, one of his worst
If he was able to play 35 top of his game minutes a game instead of 20 I think the spurs sweep. But conditioning matters a lot and he was basically the best player in the league for 15 minutes a game and then meh, fine, for the rest of the game and still great on defense. He ran out of juice every game and the Knicks dominated the 4th because of it. Brunson got better as games went on, and that’s the difference and made Brunson a better player in the series.
Steph and LeBron dominated the league for a long time, and they were probably the 1,2 best conditioned athletes in the league. If wemby can get 80% of LeBron or Steph’s conditioning and stay healthy he’ll win a bunch of championships and mvps. If he’s gonna top out at 20 elite elite minutes a game, that’s not gonna be enough against other superstars in the 4th, and the Knicks made him pay
With his size conditioning will always be an issue. Having said that he can definitely improve and I think he will
People always say he should bulk up, but honestly his stamina is what should improve.
One of his best post season games is game 1 of the WCF playing 49 minutes. Shai was the best player in the 4th quarter of that game but Wemby was the best player throughout that game. He also ironically was gassed in the 4th yet hit the gas in both overtimes it looked like he was the most energized in the 2nd overtime especially.
A key thing to remember is that he hasn’t really had a full offseason yet. 2024 he had the Olympics and 2025 he wasn’t medically cleared until August I believe. So even the “short” offseason coming off the Finals will still be his longest break since becoming an NBA player
Well Brunson also isn’t the defensive anchor of his team. Wemby has the threat level of a number one option and sometimes also acts as an offensive hub combined with his defensive side of his game which even then I think is being slept on his much better he has gotten communicating and moving around the board on defense.
What’s interesting is his on ball usage for a guy his importance is very low in terms of him having the ball in his hands which around the WCF he was averaging 3 minutes a game when for example ball dominant stars double that minute load. Even Steph in prime Warrior years and playing hybrid/off ball a lot averaged 6 minutes.
They can never make me or Jac hate u Wemby <3.. thank u for always glazing him OP
Allways will my second favorite player
It’s was an amazing run that one predicted at the start of the season, we didn’t get the results we wanted but this was great for all the guys to learn from
This man needs to go train with Dirk and Curry. Slowing down the game/building endurance should be the 2 primary goals this offseason, along with building a reliable middy. I know tall big men usually suffer in terms of endurance, but this feels like one of the few rare cases that actually could work out.
I could be wrong but I think he should study some KP offensive moves. at 7’5 you can pump fake defenders to death without expending a lot of energy.
If you could go back in time and show people this like 5 years ago, most would be like…WTAF is this?
Top 1-2 player in the world. Brunson isn’t even on the same planet.
This is insane to text let alone think after Brunson just beat him 4-1
Everyone is better than Jalen Brunson. Until it’s time to be better than Jalen Brunson.
Yeah let’s ignore what his second and third best players of his team did. OG was shooting Kawhi-like numbers as a third/4th option.
I think a key difference is: people openly debated who the Finals MVP would be until Game 5. Brunson was being shut down for long stretches and doing very little defensively. If KAT and OG don’t keep the score close with their absolutely brilliant defensive effort, Brunson’s fourth-quarter heroics would be irrelevant.
I don’t think a championship Spurs team could ever materialize without Wemby being absolutely godlike on both ends. His lists of responsibilities is as wide as anyone’s
Imagine showing this reel to the Spurs on draft night and saying “This is what you just got.”
Or go back to before the season, show all teams, and see if the tanking can get even worse…
I was getting irrationally angry that it took until 1:30 to show the first highlight against the Wolves lol
Watching this it’s crazy for what kind of bullshit this guy goes on offense.
Logo three. Drive and put down your shoulder. Crossover, drive, turnaround free throw line fadeaway
Could never make me hate him.
Very interesting person / talent.
This guy is an insane fucking athlete.
This dirty bitch was about to be suspended for game 6.
Me, halfway through the OKC series: omg he’s Him. He’s a superstar. He’s a freak. He’s putting the league on notice.
Me, halfway through the finals: soft as baby shit
One not great (but still good) series and people were acting like this dude wasn’t one of one.
If he’s not the best player in the league already, he will be by the end of next season. Just awesome, insane stuff from him
He’s still extremely raw. Next couple of seasons are going to be amazing
HONORABLE
He just had one?
dead internet theory, that deep playoff run is outside of that “users” model’s training data.
His highlight reel is misleading. He is a 7 and a half foot man who is afraid to post up and prefers to hang on the perimeter and chuck 3’s, a defensive player of the year who the knicks targeted in pick and roll. He made backbreaking errors throughout the finals. He was exposed in the finals, needs to work hard in order to live up to his potential.
22 year old in his first playoffs carried a young team to the finals and this is the narrative you choose lmao
Just giving some context for the highlight reel. Everyone’s already anointing him as one of the best players ever, but anyone with eyes to see who watched the finals understands he still has a long way to go before he deserves all the accolades.
Yeah of course, that’s why it’s called highlights.
Why the fuck should we include turnovers and missed shots on a highlight reel?
Imagine watching a Jordan or LeBron highlight reels and you see turnovers there. Use some common sense.
I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt but his mental game is so weak that it affects his actual game. Dude came up so small when the lights were bright. He was clearly rattled when it mattered the most. Hopefully his nationally televised embarrassment will humble him
This is cringe
Delete this
He averaged like 26⁄8 with 3 blocks per game playing the best defense on the court in his first finals run at age 22.
The knicks were just better and the spurs weren’t experienced enough for the moment. These takes are all so mind numbing.
Also what he averaged in the WCF is just being slept on. He also averaged 38 minutes.
Please ignore him, he does not speak for us