In a French-language interview, Wembanyama says he’s trying to simplify his game, quoting Bruce Lee:“I fear not the man who has practiced a thousand kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick a thousand times.”
And that one kick better be the Skyhook.
Came here to say precisely this.
It’s ridiculous that this guy isn’t spending all summer with Kareem, perfecting the shot. The guy is 7’5” with long-ass arms.
A skyhook from him would be literally unstoppable.
I was getting downvoted for saying he needs to develop a hook shot lmao.
He’s never gonna be Shaq and be able to bully his way to the basket, and it is a waste of his height to just be another KD (plus so far he has not proven to be as capable of a shooter as KD anyway). A skyhook would be a great answer.
Just developing a sky hook is not easy for anyone. There is a reason we’ve only seen it with Kareem. Dirk tried to perfect it and even he couldn’t do it.
Ball knower comment. Same reason more bigs have not developed Hakeem’s footwork. Hakeem wasn’t just a hard worker, he was naturally graceful, quick, shifty and light on his feet.
It’s difficult to teach a low IQ player like Shaq how to be Shaq. He was naturally a bully in the post. But might be just as difficult to make a high IQ player unlearn habits to be more dominant.
But the skyhook…I think the skyhook is learnable for a primarily defensive-minded player who does not have to unlearn core parts of his offensive fundamentals to add it to his arsenal. A good example is Mutumbo in the 2001 Sixers vs. Lakers finals series. He had the skyhook on full display against Shaq and had some success with it the early part of the series.
But for every Mutumbo, there’s 10 Javale McGees or Rudy Goberts…
Yeah I’d be skeptical of working on a skyhook versus just continuing to try to shoot over everyone. That’s a skill that naturally compounds with training threes and free throws.
As someone who’s watched Embiid pick up every conceivable skill for a decade, the one thing he never touched was the skyhook.
I’ve always assumed it’s the form that makes it so difficult to execute consistently. The shooting motion is almost entirely in the wrist, and you can’t see the ball as you’re shooting it since it’s on the opposite side of the basket from your head, so you need to have a really good feel when aiming.
Even a consistent baby hook would make him unstoppable.
Just to be another KD is not easy. KD probably is best scorer the game has ever seen. I don’t think anyone can be as good of a shooter as kd is at his height.
KD the best and worst thing to happen to the league. It’s allowed big men to try and develop guard like skills. Unfortunately it’s also allowed big men to try and develop guard like skills 🤣
Yeah, if you combine KD on offense with Wemby’s defense you have one of the best players of all time.
The problem is that Wemby will never be the shooter that KD was (or even is right now).
KD is not the best scorer the game has ever seen. MJ clears him easily.
KD might be the most skilled scorer at his size, but not overall.
For sure. Maybe Wemby will improve his shooting as he develops; it is easy to forget the guy is only 22. But it just seems like a waste of his genetics to play like that.
KP and Embiid are close to KD in terms of shooting. They just go straight up like their defenders aren’t even there. Wemby should model KP and Embiid way more than KD.
Even Shaq had a pretty good hookshot as a go to move.
Why is it a waste of his height to be another KD, but not a waste of his height to be another Kareem?
Because KD moves freakishly fluid for somebody his size and is an anomaly. Having a hook shot is just mechanics + height and is much more achievable (in theory)
You can’t become KD, you have to be born KD.
He can develop a vertical shot the way other greats like Kareem and Dirk did.
Because vic aint hitting the same clip as KD. So he needs a go to move
Because with his height he is basically unguardable if he actually hit his shots at a good enough clip. And so far he has not been as good when he has to settle for midrange and 3s. Seems obvious that he would be at his best if he gets close to the basket, but he doesn’t have the muscle to attack the rim every possession, so the hook shot would seem like a good answer to that problem. No center could really contest a Wemby skyhook.
KD in his prime is a seven foot tall shooting guard. Vic is almost six inches taller and will never be able to move like a shooting guard.
I was saying he should work with Ayton in the offseason. All wemby needs is a reliable short range middy.
Shaq actually had a nice little baby hook.
Some of it can be practiced, can it not? I don’t recall embiid being so deadly in the mid-range in the start of his career, he was more of a menace closer to the rim with his footwork and power
He dont even need all that, his release point is so high the chance of it being blocked is virtually 0. He dont need complicated things with skyhooks, or dirk fadeaway, or step back 3, or kd bags. Just a simple Lamarcus Aldridge turn around middy would have been equally as unstoppable.
LMAO, simple. Aldridge’s signature middy over the right shoulder is anything but. Seriously underrating the difficulty of that shot and the unique ability of Aldridge to make it his thing.
This would be my choice as well. Sky-hooks, and even regular hook shots, are difficult under the best conditions, but especially when a player is prone to being pushed around. There’s a reason hook shots aren’t a staple of the game anymore.
A turn-around middy keeps two feet and two hands on the ball, and would allow Wemby to counter with an up-and-under/drive toward the basket when the turn-around is well defended, which should allow him to either score or get fouled on most possessions.
Precisely because he’s 7’5” with an even longer wingspan the skyhook is pointless
The skyhook is a shot that can’t be blocked, but it’s also incredibly hard to execute to any reasonable efficiency. There’s a reason why literally nobody else in league history does it with any volume as much as fans plead every single season
At Wemby’s size, even a basic hook will essentially never be blocked, and can be made at significantly higher efficiency
Okay, then work on perfecting the basic hook shot.
That I completely agree with!
Hilarious that a bunch of people who never watched kareem play think the sky hook is the answer in a game that has changed a whole lot since the 80s.
Unless Amen Thompson is his defender of course
Kareem is 80 years old, just had hip surgery, has had a quadruple bypass. You think he gives two fucks about teaching Wemby some moves, vs spending time with his loved ones and enjoying life? lol
Kareem absolutely seems like the type to spend time helping the next generation improve lol
Completely disagree and I question how much you know about Kareem lol.
Oh ok, that makes sense, since he is 80 and physically cannot do that anymore.
Also, since he is 80, he has had plenty of time to do this with other generations right? Who are some of those players? Besides Andrew Bynum decades ago, who was a Laker.
Man Kareem is 79 years old, that man isn’t tryna get in the gym with anybody lmfao
One player in NBA history has perfected the sky hook. Many have tried. Its not so simple as to say just work with Kareem all summer lol.
Yeah but if anyone can figure it out I feel like Wemby is the one to do it in this generation
Not sure about that to be honest. Hes got guard skills for his size but he’s not got elite big man skills with footwork and touch the way Jokic does for example. Those would seem to be more important for a shot like the sky hook.
He doesn’t have a strong enough base for a sky hook. One nudge and he’ll be off balance.
You know Kareem is 79 years old, right?
I can see a 60 something year old spending time to teach Wemby, but Kareem is way past that point
Even if he was healthy I don’t think Kareem is the guy to train other players like that tbh
I’m upset there’s no skyhook 3pt shooter
Easier said than done. Magic is the only other player in the history of the league with a reliable sky hook. Something to get separation in the high post and the short corner is going to be important, though. The one-legged fade is the widely proven way to get that separation in a single motion that absorbs or avoids the defender’s forearm post defense. Gotta admit, though, a sky hook sure would be cool to see.
Because it’s a shot easy to learn but very hard to master. There’s a reason why this shot basically disappears despite its fame.
Kareem worked on his Skyhook throughout his childhood and throughout college. It’s the hardest shot to learn, evident in the simple fact than literally no one else has added it to their arsenal.
But yeah, Wemby should just toss it on the pile real quick
A regular hook shot is perfectly fine. A skyhook is completely unnecessary.
Unnecessary but its cool as fuck so it actually is totally necessary
A baby hook really would suffice at his height. Get your ass in the paint Wemby.
It’s a step back 3, and you’ll like it
Only after he perfects the step back middy
Nobody including Jokic, who may have the greatest touch of all time, does a skyhook. Nobody should be using the skyhook in today’s game. It’s a relic from an era when big men could set up for ten seconds
Horrible advice, Bruce Lee defeated Kareem in Game Of Death
That’s overkill, he just needs a baby hook or whatever’s easiest. Nobody (except Amen) is blocking him no matter what.
As a Wolves fan the last thing I want is for him to get better, but I also keep saying this lmao just develop a sky hook bro no one wants to watch you dribble pull up three. Or just dunk on dudes
Embiid at 7’3 has his foul-line jumper that is unblockable cash money. Hitting at 50%.
Wemby at 7’5 would be even more unblockable. And it would be easier to develop than the skyhook.
I’d settle for the Dirk fadeaway in the midpost.
Its even simpler IMO, just don’t put the ball down in a swing through. Dude is taller than everyone else, keep the ball above his head, turn around and shoot a midranged shot.
Better be a Skyhook 3 pointer
Nah, I prefer it to be the 3 ball.
Nah he’d rather practice tackling with the rugby team.
i havent seen a big man rock the hook shot well since Marc Gasol. it’s unblockable
sky hook is really difficult. he just needs the tim duncan 15 foot bank shot.
He don’t even need a sky hook. Since he’s so tall and can jump, all he needs is just a regular left and right hook shot from right below the free throw line. Easiest bucket he’s going to get. Plus he can shoot it over double teams too. No one is blocking that shit at all and if they touch him it’s a foul.
There’s no way wemby’s skyhook will ever be efficient in today’s game where defenses are allowed to be way more creative then defenses in Kareem’s days. You’re wasting valuable game time by having wemby set up in the paint, muscle through like 3 defenders, and shoot a skyhook over them. And this is if he learns the shot, which is no easy task. A push shot, short middy or baby hook will suffice. He’s basically unblockable without the skyhook anyways.
Maybe it’s just me, but IMO his best bet would be to follow Giannis’s model, and focus on using his length and agility to drive to the basket as much as possible
yeah but big men don’t get as many foul calls as guards, look at Jokić Giannis and Wemby they get MAULED like crazy and they can’t do much back, it’s not a fair game and in that context for Vic it’s not worth getting so much contact and losing a valuable position in transition defense
Time to log off 2k brother
Idk why I unmuted this video as if I speak French…
You do, “the English language doesn’t exist, it’s just poorly pronounced French” after all.
It’s actually German, but close enough
It’s really German with French characteristics
he’s got a very soothing voice tbf
He had the most dunks in a game in his career last night. It’s evident they’re trying to get him more touches at the rack.
There was one point he did exactly what a lot of former players have been asking for: he slowed himself down, held the ball up high, and surveyed what his teammates and the defense were doing. He faked a pass, let the lane clear out, then drove.
It’s simple, so I get why some may roll their eyes at celebrating it. But Victor is a guy who makes changes deliberately, so when I see that, see him catching himself going too fast, I take it as a great sign that someone/something got through to him that he needs to at least try playing at a different speed sometimes on offense. That is a massive step in the right direction.
Im a spurs hater but as a fan of basketball I want him to maximize to his potential and see what a 7’5 freak can do to break the game. Then I can root against him ethically
I’m not even a spurs fan but I want so badly for him to figure this out. It would be such a waste if the only guy who ever looked like him didn’t become a multiple-time MVP.
Yeah it seems like he put the cart before the horse with focusing so much on jumpers in his first couple years. That said, I think it was basically a mandate from the team to force feed him looks from three, but he should’ve always been doing this sort of stuff primarily.
He listened to Tim Duncan
But he has to use that 7’6 height to his advantage…. He shouldn’t be dipping to lay the ball up and shooting 3’s too much
He will practice these dipping layups and long 3s and you will like it
Bringing the ball down is one thing, but after that OT logo 3 in OKC during the conference finals I’m pretty okay with him not eliminating that from his game.
His 3pt accuracy is almost entirely aura based and I live for it.
Would be hilarious if he got to Steph levels of shooting 3s in volume and accuracy. At 7 6, completely broken lol
1000 times!!!
I want to see someone practice terrible shots so much they become good. Kind of like kobe.
Exactly lol, didn’t we just see him practicing fade away corner 3s?
I mean you saw one 10 second clip from a team practice
Sochan is in that clip. It’s old
Did you watch the last game? He had 9 dunks
nobody watches games on r/nba
He did have like 9 dunks last game, they’re clearly trying to make his offense happen near the rim first with motion
I’m just a simple man with simple tastes, and my simple tastes are dip-ups.
Have you seen their roster? With those 3 guards he absolutely needs to space the floor.
Is it the best use of him? No, absolutely not.
And Lamarcus Aldridge
He is basically guaranteed to be better than duncan and limiting himself to duncan’s strats is not the way to go
Delete this nephew
He is not guaranteed to be better than Duncan lol
I didn’t say it was right or wrong, I just said he listened to him because this is literally Tim Duncan’s advice to wemby just a couple days ago
No but he would want to master that first before the other shots……. He’s 7’6 and 22 years old, he’s got plenty of time for that
Guaranteed to be better than Duncan is a hell of a statement for such a young guy. Duncan is just outside the top 10 players ever with an insane amount of accolades that only missed like 40 games in his first 10 seasons when he won 4 championships, 3 FMVPs and 2 MVPs with first team all nba and all defense teams every year in that stretch. The only thing he’s missing (which is an absolute crime) is a DPOY. Wemby has a very long way to go.
Heck, I’d argue Duncan is clearly Top-10 All-Time:
MJ
LeBron
Kareem
Wilt
Bill Russell
Magic
Bird
Duncan
Curry
Shaq
He’s certainly the best Power Forward of All-Time.
It doesn’t appear Duncan is in your list. Unless I am blind
Just outside? I’m pretty sure he’s consensus in that group
I don’t disagree but some people have him at like 11 or 12 depending on where they rank guys like Kobe/Curry/Wilt that are also fringe top 10 depending on what you care about. He’s right next to Shaq to me at like 8⁄9.
Were you born yesterday?
Bruce Lee would have never lost to the Knicks in the finals
Bruce Lee defeated the great Kareem Abdul Jabbar
But not Brad Pitt.
That’s World Metta Peace to you, good sir!
Bruce lee would have knocked Brunson out, Wemby didn’t go far enough with his dirty play.
Ethical basketball™
Cliff Booth says otherwise.
No one listens to stuntmen
Take it easy there, Jan
its fucked up what he did to that nice family
Bruce Lee 100% would snort a bag of cocaine and then drop a few folks wearing knickerbockers
If they had Chuck Norris then Knicks in 4
Everyone already knows his weakness (chest hair)
While being the strong favorites
Bruce Lee would have never came out of the finals alive after tapping his head multiple times with his finger because he would be dead.
If he just develops like 2 really consistent post shots he’ll be impossible to guard and the gravity of him for opposing defenses will help generate even more 3 pt looks for his teammates.
Giannis did this and his efficiency and playmaking ability improved. He took away the 3 point attempts and reduced how many midrange shots he took in exchange for more attempts at the basket. The result was some of the most efficient scoring seasons of his career as well as developing a fantastic playmaking ability.
The problem with Wemby on offense is that he is good at a lot but not great at anything. His handle isn’t good enough to create his own offense reliably and he is a streaky 3 point shooter so you never know what will happen from game to game. He shies away from contact down low so what you get is a bunch of awkward layup attempts that should be easy dunks detonating on defenders noggin.
Giannis did this and his efficiency and playmaking ability improved. He took away the 3 point attempts and reduced how many midrange shots he took in exchange for more attempts at the basket.
Giannis also put on a shit ton of weight to do that. Is this something Wemby will want to do, especially considering how tall he is?
taking this as code for ‘yeah okay i’m gonna be getting in the paint more’
He about to spam PnR the league is cooked
People here have the most simplistic view of basketball…as if it’s that simple lol
That’s up there with “why doesn’t he simply stand in front of the basket, catch it and dunk every time?”
Sounds like he’s scared of Draymond Green.
Underrated comment for sure!
I think Wemby is secretly a frustrated martial artist. Like, he trains with monks and quotes mastering a single kick… Dude just wants to go into MMA
Curious that against okc and Houston aint the same history that playing the mavs and kings. He just faced weaker defenses and worst overall teams.
Don’t you have a couple of overpaid cripples to be praying for?
All the star power in the world just for a 2nd round exit. Cope
2nd round is very generous
Didn’t yall squander Russ KD and Harden? In events that actually happened and aren’t just a guess?
No title since 83? Gawtdaaamn
Wemby and the Spurs clowned yall and won the series. Did we not ? Last I checked we won . Its the beginning of the season relax kid. All that matters is you are injury free (you know this well) and playing your best after the ASB.
1⁄13 btw
4-3 btw
To be clear, this is what LeBron is always criticized for. Not having a bag. And having a simple game. Sometimes if you have an effective game the defense can’t stop, a bag isn’t important.
If you have a huge physical advantage the way Wemby and Bron do, being able to do a few things elitely is better because they are so physically gifted no one can stop it
But lebron does more than few things
Yes, but he added most of them with time. At first he went to the rim and nobody could stop him. After 2007 he developed a jumper, in Miami he learned defense, he became a better passer every year. It’s not like he dropped in the league in 2003 a complete player. If Wemby could have one unstoppable move that guarantees 15-20 a game then he will have more time to become a complete player
Except Wemby does average 20+ PPG since last season. Lebron was talented enough to learn all that you mentioned and more. That is why he is who he is. Guys like Lebron, Steph and KD had so big of an offensive bag that they never had 1 go to move one can think of. They can score in multiple ways. Not every star in NBA can do that. Tim Duncan for example had his famous off the glass shot, Dirk had one leg fadeaway. Wemby is trying to do so many things and it is not working for him and that’s ok
Obviously…but he’s not finesse, just efficient, which I think is what people mean
Lebron was doing post up fadeaways vs teams in 2000s when game demanded that, had a midrange game plus had a layup package as well also off the glass shots. People are just wrong or did not watch Lebron. He depended on his athletic gifts but there is a reason he went 1st overall and was a star from the start. Media and people criticized him for nothing since he failed initially at Cleveland
But like he does have incredible finesse? finishing at the rim, the way he became a great 3 point shooter, and the touch he’s able to put on passes.
Wemby just need the finger roll and the skyhook and he would score when and how he wanted
That’s basically what Shaq made a whole career on right? I agree, not everyone is MJ or Kobe and can do it all.
I have been following the NBA since before LeBron was even drafted and I cannot for the life of me think of a time where LeBron not having a bag was a part of the discourse
I don’t remember that narrative specifically, but I do remember him being criticized early in his career for relying so much on his athleticism.
People said his game wouldn’t age well. I think he may have proven that to be wrong lmao
People thought that as his athleticism declined he wouldn’t be able to keep doing what he’s doing. The unpredictable thing is that LeBron’s athleticism has barely declined.
Nah he definitely declined. Now instead of being far and away the most athletic player in the league he’s now a top 10-15 athlete.
It’s only when he’s compared to Kobe or something
Yeah well if he didn’t rely on his athleticism he would be able to play till 65
Yeah now that I am thinking more about it I do kinda remember serious people (idgaf about redditors or twitter trolls) saying he was just a freight train who ran at the basket. But I guess I am not considering ‘not having a bag’ the same as ‘missing skills’, because no player on planet earth has ever lacked for skills to develop
I think lebrons grew in Miami. First run w Cleveland he definitely looked mostly athleticism. Outside of his teammates unable to create in his first nba finals. They focus on him kind of like they do in cade Cunningham. But he worked on that post game. By the time the second Cleveland stint, his bag grew a lot. I remember against golden state he straight up was spamming post up fade aways non stop. He didn’t have that first run. Takes time sometimes and work. Wemby is so young. The biggest thing is he is putting the work in. Cough Ben Simmons cough
“I see it all the time. I’ll be on social media and like, ‘LeBron has no bag,” James said. “LeBron has no bag and I’m sitting here, like, I got 50 billion points.”
Guy who has allegedly been following the NBA before LeBron was in the league has never seen this discourse, yet there are actually quotes from LeBron addressing the discourse.
It was definitely more about not having a jumper rather than having no bag
Yeah this is the point I’m trying to make. No player (other than LeBron tbh…) has ever been able to do EVERYTHING. Being lacking in one macro aspect of your game is not the same as not having a bag, it just means you will always have something to improve.
Bag is just the new term, but Bron has pretty consistently been criticized for not having go to moves and stuff
People have always said this. Not that LeBron couldn’t score, but he didn’t develop his skills like say Durant because LeBron was super athletic and could rely on that to get to the basket
So many people used to say this about LeBron. Do you not remember the Kobe vs Bron debates, the criticism of Bron after his finals losses, people saying all he could do was barrel his way to the basket?
The original run and dunk guy
I remember the melo v lbj comparisons were like melo is like a jaguar who uses finess while lbj was like an unstoppable bull.
Then you not paying attention
Then you weren’t paying attention
Lebron said it himself. He only felt the need to learn how to shoot after facing the Spurs in the finals.
‘He needs a post game’ do you honestly not remember this?
‘He needs a post game’ is not ‘he doesn’t have a bag’, no one would say Hakeem didn’t have a bag because ‘he needs to develop a 3 ball’
What does ‘he doesn’t have a bag’ mean to you? Because the talk was LeBron didn’t have a go to move, and that’s why he needed to develop a post game.
Also, Hakeem didn’t play in an era where 5s shot the 3 so the comparison is not really the same.
I don’t hear it on here but I definitely hear it in the casual spaces online
The nerds will tell you the truth, Lebrons problem is he cant shoot outside of 5’
Oh ok nice
What was it like when the dinosaurs roamed the earth grandpa?
(What my kid asks when I talk about watching MJ play 🥲)
Lol I am just barely old enough to remember 8 or 9 year old me sprinting around my grandparents house when Reggie hit the game winner against the Bulls in the ECF (we don’t talk about the rest of the series)
Strowman arguments are the foundation of the internet. Why argue with a relevant topic when you can create fictional ones and be right all the time?
yea guy is on roof yellin random things, lebro has S - Tier bag since HS
?!?!?! haha ok show me the highlights? He’s the all time leader in turnovers.
Why do you post in every team sub like you’re a fan of all of them
He is literally a Straight line brute force speed and power driver. Why are you so wrong?? hahahahah
haha get a job
DOWNVOTE PARTY
You havent been in the barbershops, its ok
All star game vs Kobe.
I remember and discourse was literally him just not having a dribbling bag, not being clutch and not having a killer instinct. Goated player with no real offensive “bag” just strong buckets
Up until 2014 it was clog the paint and let him shoot, so maybe you weren’t paying attention?
LeBron definitely got shit for barreling his way to the basket earlier in his career.
This is exactly what I’m saying. People used to say that all Lebron does is drive, shoot fadeaway cause his jump shot used to look more like it, and he don’t have a post up game. Yet over time he has worked on all of those. Right now is only Wembys 4th year. Yes, he’s supposed to be a better post player at this point, but you gotta remember he didn’t come as a typical big. Plus he got that blood clot in his 2nd year and they still suck during that time, so he probably didn’t even know what to work on aside from gaining weight.
Edit:My bad, I was responding to luuufy.
Because of his height, I don’t think Wemby will ever be the dominant post presence people want him to be. He will never be Shaq, or Embiid, or even Duncan. Fans don’t know that post moves are less about height as it is about hip width and leg strength. I think Wemby should take cues from Dwight and score mostly downhill off picks and maybe add a pick-and-pop counter. That should be bread and butter.
I think with his height and game, he needs to have a better face up game. He should go work out more with Dirk and KG instead of Hakeem. I know he has Tim to learn from but honestly he play more like KG and Dirk than Tim. Plus He’s not really a back to the basket player like all the other bigs. Not once had I seen him shoot a hook shot at all. Idk why he’s not working on a hook shot too cause Sengun and Sebonis hit those on him a lot and he can barely block those.
😂😂😂it wasn’t. It got brought up as a joke on Twitter every now and then but that’s the extent of it.
There’s people saying this about LeBron holly molly are they blind
Man people have been saying this about lebron for 20 years
“Why doesn’t the most athletically and physically gifted player ever do the moves that the smaller, less athletic players use to compensate for their disadvantage?”
Giannis is a better example. People act like KD has a way better handle than him, just because he’s more flashy with the ball. However, Giannis is way less likely to get his pocket picked, and his whole game revolves around being able to drive through tough defenses.
Curry VS Kyrie is similar too, in terms of handle and finishing. Kyrie is way flashier with the ball, but Curry still gets to wherever he wants on the court and finishes at a higher rate around the basket.
Tim Duncan wasn’t flash, people made fun of his bank shot, but it was effective and he led a dynasty without a complex bag of tricks.
This is also what Zion is always criticized for, though: he has one offensive move, always goes left, no middy or 3 game. As they say, they laughed at Einstein, but they also laughed at Bozo the clown.
A bag is the most overrated aspect of basketball. It’s the nipple on a breastplate
Absolutely not why are we making shit up because wemby doesn’t have an offensive bag? A player having an elite set of offensive skills is something that’s elevated multiple guys into super stardom it’s often the gap that separates players. Lebron not needing one does not make it overrated. Wemby not having one isnt a big deal but if hes not going to develop one he needs to stop with the goofy jumpshots and stick to dunking or tipping the ball into the hoop
you don’t need a bag when you’re 7’6”
when you’re average-height and average-athleticism by league standards, having a bag is what separates playoff risers from underperformers. it’s easy to game plan against someone who can only do a few things
The only people who criticize Bron for not having a bag are young people and YouTubers
It’s the complete opposite with Wemby and LeBron. If anything, people want Wemby to be more like LeBron and utilize his strength. With LeBron it was his athleticism and with Wemby it’s of course his height and people want Wemby to utilize that and play closer to the basket
Not having a bag?!?! hah… thats for Social media dude. Lebrons real problem is Not Having a SHOT…. dude got iced out of a ring for 8 seasons becasue the Spurs, Celtics, and Mavs packed the paint on him.
Nah, Bron was criticized for not being able to post up much smaller / weaker players. Then he actually put a little work in and got better at it.
Shaq also famously didn’t have a bag. See also “run and dunk” players.
a bag is less important when you can simply run through or reach over everyone
Somehow managed to bring LeBron into this. Impressive
Ya like even though it’s not turning to wins lately but nothing can still stop Giannis except his own free throw woes by his non bag is non crippling
I’d say bag is important to those who do not have the physical/genetic gifts such as height/length/athleticism suited for the sport. Brunson is short and stocky. His body type requires the bag and the bbiq to even be in the league.
But gifted people like LeBron and Wemby should all somewhat adhere to the Bruce Lee quote because that simple go to move that people can’t stop becomes a +60% shot then it’s fucking over for the opposition.
Lebron diversified the shit out of his game by 2018. If you looked at his stats only, you would never realize how he added dribble pull up, step backs, turnarounds, and even perimeter defense to his arsenal. Watch a lebron playoff game from 2007 and compare it to 2018. It literally looks like a different player. Last season with the lakers he started showing he can play off the ball (to be fair, skills that he already had but just utilized more of) with increased cutting/screening while also spot up catching and shooting
What the fuck are you talking about LMAO
In football, Arjen Robben was famous for his one main play (cutting in from the wing and shooting from distance).
Everyone knew he’d do it, everyone tried to stop it, but they couldnt.
Lebron absolutely deserved to be criticised for bulldozing his way to the rim as his go to move.
That criticism helped him grow as a player. No one is saying you need a near infinite bag, but a few go to moves a various levels of scoring goes a long way.
That criticism helped him grow as a player.
I bet Lebron worked on his game because he’s smart and saw where he could improve, not because talking heads and Twitter bros shouted that he didn’t “have a bag.”
I’m sure what you stated played the biggest role, his hunger to achieve greatness. But you’d be a fool to assume criticism directed his way by former players, pundits/analysts and fans didn’t have any impact at all.
LeBron always attempted clumsy jumpers and running mid floaters, but he was not as good with them early. With time, he got decent. And none of these are really go to moves, LeBron is a playmaker, he attempts shots by following what the defense gives him. Luka is the same thing by the way, even if he looks infinitely more skilled as a scorer than LeBron ever did, their style is to manipulate the defense, not shoot the midrange killer like Jordan, the left baseline turn around by Olajuwon or the skyhook like KAJ, these players are pure scorers.
Wemby stubbornly tried to be a scorer and sometimes a playmaker on offense, which is so fucking stupid, he needs to be a finisher, like how Karl Malone used to score. Malone catched the ball and he had the little jump shots from close and a myriad of post and power moves, always finishing at higher percentages, no indecisiveness. Wemby try to be a scorer without reason, he doesn’t need to fade away like Jordan or attempt fancy moves like Olajuwon, they did that to exploit and avoid the defense, Wemby is already too large, he doesn’t need to avoid anyone, nothing can guard him
Pretty sure 95% of this sub didnt watch Lebron in 2000s and early 2010s
What exactly does bag mean to people. Chucking shots at 40% efficiency like kobe is not bag it is stupidity. LeBron bas the biggest bag of all time. He could score pass defend at all nba level there is no other player who did all three.
A bag is about having counters to your moves specifically, it’s all aesthetic and no substance for a player like LeBron, Steph or KD. They get their shots off without needing extra set up and nobody can stop them so they don’t need to counter often.
I’m ngl, saying Steph and KD don’t have a bag is insane
Steph has the most bag out of all of them by a margin but his bag isn’t what makes him one of the GOATs like Kobe or Hakeem for instance. Take away his moves and he’s still the best player in a dynasty imo. KD genuinely doesn’t really have a bag at this point.
LeBron doesnt have a bag
If you’re under 20 and never seen Kobe play just say so.
Lebrons issue is that he cant create a shot when its crunch time cause he cant post up. If he’s guarded by a big athletic guy and a small man he struggles cause he cant post up.
Issue with Wemby is he’s making it hard for him which is different from what Lebron is being criticized for.
But.. what is the 1000 kicks that you practiced over the summer, Wemby?
Dude you’re a million feet tall. Literally just face the basket without dribbling yet. Jab step, create space, shoot the ball with a slight fade. No one well block it. Easy shot. Look at LaMarcus Aldridge as an example. You get that shot to fall consistently it will open up your game to everything else you want to do.
I’ve noticed the amount of “holy shit” plays has been down. He doesn’t go for viral blocks or insane shots like he used to.
It’s less fun, but also probably where his game needs to go long-term
I hope he simplifies, wins a title, and then goes back to being really fun.Imagine having this freak in the league and he spends his entire career catchings lobs and shooting little hooks… i dunno… seems boring.
Make it 3-4 titles and I’m game.
(Yeah, I tell the boulangère how cooked I like my baguettes 😎)
He can still be fun af and fundamentally sound. He showed that repeatedly throughout the playoffs (until the Finals, of course)
It’s weird. Tim Duncan literally exists. I loved watching that guy play.
Once he gets some comfort with a hook shot in games, don’t care for the great quotes lol
I do respect that he basically removed his middie game for the benefit of the team, he wasn’t making them at the rate needed for how good the team is. Down the line I can see a version of him that has a mid range almost as good as what Joel has
I fear not the man who takes a 10,000 fadeaway 3s, but the man who makes 1 self lob. or smth
Why is he practicing kicks?
Getting ready for Draymond.
The cheesiness is unbereable… even if Wemby practice a thousand 3pt shots every day alongside another thousand pull up jumpers, that will not matter, he is too streaky and clumsy for that. Also the risk of dumb injury, dude is so large, why should he fade away or attempt a jump shot motion with the defenders close by in his landing zone? Go to the fucking paint and practice a thousand hook shots instead, protect the ball, protect your body, the human brain is not an ornament.
This situation pisses me off because Wemby is literally a walking bomb, everybody knows the dude is about to break like a twig, and he keeps playing in the most dumb ways, exposing himself for no reason. If he don’t fix these bad behaviors soon enough, the bomb is going to explode and we will never witness his full potential
Maybe he should practice something else than jacking up 3s
I fuck with Wemby in the post game. Always aura farming, and I respect it. He knows who he is.
People gonna turn on him and call him Corny, but fuck all that. This shit entertainment and it’s entertaining as fuck to have people act like they the MC.
Scared for when Wemby gets Giannis-level ripped.He’s already looking jacked
Corny ass mother fucker.