Victor Wembanyama Stats Prediction

[Bornstellar]

Everyone just assumes that Pop is going to treat Wemby with kid gloves because he did so with the big three while falling to realize that he only did that in the back half of their careers because they had so much mileage and multiple rings already (not to mention the team around them was much better and they could afford it). Victor is a 19 year old and he has said himself that he has no intention of taking games off. I think a lot of people will be surprised at how many minutes/games he plays.

Pop used to play Tim Duncan 38mpg when he was young. Don't assume he's going to treat a 19 year olds playing time the same way he treated 35/36 year olds

[eyeatoma]

14pts, 5rb 1.5 blk, 44%fg, 25% 3pt

Lol

[eyeatoma]

14pts, 5rb 1.5 blk, 44%fg, 25% 3pt

Lol this...

[FrodoFraggins]

50 games played!

[Roger Murdock]

I'll guess 18ppg, 8 rpg, 2 apg, 3.5 bpg

[Saul Goodman]

Hopefully high as I took him pretty high in fantasy lol but realistically given load management potential injuries and just the slow development of the Spurs system I can see

19/10/3/2.8blk/1.8stl

[Finchination33]

21ppg, 5.5rpg, 2.5apg, 3bpg, 0.5spg

[jordanwilliams6]

19PPG, 6RPG, 2APG, 3BPG on 47%/29%/81%

[BigGargamel]

I'll be conservative and go with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 45% from the field and 32% from 3.

[damanick10]

14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers

45/30/75

Anybody here thinking that he's going to average 2+ assists is kidding themselves and hasn't watched him play.

I think it's more likely that he simply alters a billion shots rather than stack massive block numbers. It's incredibly difficult to rack up high block numbers in the fast-paced, perimeter oriented game of today without fouling; I don't think Pop lets him play like that. Maybe he hits 2.5 blocks.

What do you mean? I've seen some great playmaking early.

[DCasey91]

I see less than 3 blocks. If he just blocks everything early in the season, guys will just dribble through the paint and pass it and/or stop taking jumpshots in his face

That’s not how basketball works lol dude comfortably covers the most ground right now with one step.

Did u see him contest the perimeter and one step swiped the ball from inside the ft line? That’s absurd length.

Kessler was doing 3 in starter time, Jackson was 3

Wemby is 7”4” he’ll pick up a couple of blocks because players can’t make that adjustment in real time. What you gonna do not drive or shoot from the outside? Lmao the modern ball today is literally 3’s, open space and layups.

[heezyo2o]

I see less than 3 blocks. If he just blocks everything early in the season, guys will just dribble through the paint and pass it and/or stop taking jumpshots in his face

That’s not how basketball works lol dude comfortably covers the most ground right now with one step.

Did u see him contest the perimeter and one step swiped the ball from inside the ft line? That’s absurd length.

Kessler was doing 3 in starter time, Jackson was 3

Wemby is 7”4” he’ll pick up a couple of blocks because players can’t make that adjustment in real time. What you gonna do not drive or shoot from the outside? Lmao the modern ball today is literally 3’s, open space and layups.

When Dwight Howard was younger, most players wouldn't attack the paint. Even an injured Dwight Howard with the Lakers was night and day when he was on the court. Once Dwight went to the bench, everyone started attacking the basket.

The block Wemby got on Wiggins driving in the lane in the last game. Do you think Wiggins would have shot that again...no he's going to pass that.

He's going to get his blocks sure, but I don't see 4 blocks a game. Just the number of blocks itself doesn't tell everything, it's the number of shots that don't get attempted too.

[JustBuzzin]

18ppg 8rpg 3apg and 42 games played. I don't think he plays a full season healthy. He will likely miss games here and there.

[hippesthippo]

This stats line would be his stats only for his worst week of the season!

I think he does a bit better as shown above, but go back and look at Anthony Davis' rookie year stats. Maybe that will bring expectations back down to reality.

Wemby is a first year big man. This isn't like Kareem or Duncan coming into the NBA fully developed and ready to win.

I still think he will have the best rookie season since 2000 if he is healthy...Btw,I don't count rookie like Blake Griffin as a true rookie back in 2011 season since he was in the second season in the NBA since he hadn't played in his first season

So... better than Lebron's first year?

[hippesthippo]

I see less than 3 blocks. If he just blocks everything early in the season, guys will just dribble through the paint and pass it and/or stop taking jumpshots in his face

That’s not how basketball works lol dude comfortably covers the most ground right now with one step.

Did u see him contest the perimeter and one step swiped the ball from inside the ft line? That’s absurd length.

Kessler was doing 3 in starter time, Jackson was 3

Wemby is 7”4” he’ll pick up a couple of blocks because players can’t make that adjustment in real time. What you gonna do not drive or shoot from the outside? Lmao the modern ball today is literally 3’s, open space and layups.

When Dwight Howard was younger, most players wouldn't attack the paint. Even an injured Dwight Howard with the Lakers was night and day when he was on the court. Once Dwight went to the bench, everyone started attacking the basket.

The block Wemby got on Wiggins driving in the lane in the last game. Do you think Wiggins would have shot that again...no he's going to pass that.

He's going to get his blocks sure, but I don't see 4 blocks a game. Just the number of blocks itself doesn't tell everything, it's the number of shots that don't get attempted too.

I'd like to add that Rudy Gobert can also cover a ridiculous amount of ground with 1 step. He just knows that sometimes it's better to try and alter a shot rather than foul or give up positioning.

[DC_Melo]

Everyone just assumes that Pop is going to treat Wemby with kid gloves because he did so with the big three while falling to realize that he only did that in the back half of their careers because they had so much mileage and multiple rings already (not to mention the team around them was much better and they could afford it). Victor is a 19 year old and he has said himself that he has no intention of taking games off. I think a lot of people will be surprised at how many minutes/games he plays.

Pop used to play Tim Duncan 38mpg when he was young. Don't assume he's going to treat a 19 year olds playing time the same way he treated 35/36 year olds

You’re not kidding… Timmy D played all 82 games his rookie season and averaged 39.1 minutes a game. He averaged 40.6 in 2001-02!! Pop worked his ass off lol!

That said, today’s players simply don’t play that much. Siakem led the league last year at 37.4 a game.

Also, Wemby is a truly unique physical specimen, with amazing length and height. He’s five inches taller than Duncan and about a mile longer, and also a good 30-40 pounds lighter. As amazing as his highlights are, his lowlights are downright painful to watch, especially when u see him take a fall. U literally hold your breath hoping he’s ok.

The kid has done an amazing job of staying healthy and is very pro-active in his injury prevention. I imagine the Spurs and Pop will take a similar approach. My guess is 30-32 mpg his rookie year, and I honestly don’t know that his career MPGs will ever go that far north of 34.

[DCasey91]

I think he does a bit better as shown above, but go back and look at Anthony Davis' rookie year stats. Maybe that will bring expectations back down to reality.

Wemby is a first year big man. This isn't like Kareem or Duncan coming into the NBA fully developed and ready to win.

I still think he will have the best rookie season since 2000 if he is healthy...Btw,I don't count rookie like Blake Griffin as a true rookie back in 2011 season since he was in the second season in the NBA since he hadn't played in his first season

So... better than Lebron's first year?

Assume health? No doubt, Wemby’s defensive presence is trending toward all time very very quickly. It’s preseason but he’s been very much in the positive

Quite realistic that he can be an elite anchor type from day dot and carry a defense by himself as the starting point.

James was very spotty offensively, it was in year 2 that he took off

Like it would be very scary if halfway into the season there’s numerous measures/metrics stating there’s basically a peak Gobert but with added length on top and mobility out there for the Spurs.

[Ell Curry]

I see less than 3 blocks. If he just blocks everything early in the season, guys will just dribble through the paint and pass it and/or stop taking jumpshots in his face

That’s not how basketball works lol dude comfortably covers the most ground right now with one step.

Did u see him contest the perimeter and one step swiped the ball from inside the ft line? That’s absurd length.

Kessler was doing 3 in starter time, Jackson was 3

Wemby is 7”4” he’ll pick up a couple of blocks because players can’t make that adjustment in real time. What you gonna do not drive or shoot from the outside? Lmao the modern ball today is literally 3’s, open space and layups.

Yeah, there's a shot clock, and a lot of blocks seem to occur later in the clock when guys are driving. If there's 6 seconds left on the shot clock and the pick and roll gets trapped, or you catch it on a close out but the guy is there in time for you not to shoot, and you've got a lane to attack the hoop and you're not a great shooter, you're gonna do it even if Wemby is in there. /Hubie Brown

[DCasey91]

I see less than 3 blocks. If he just blocks everything early in the season, guys will just dribble through the paint and pass it and/or stop taking jumpshots in his face

That’s not how basketball works lol dude comfortably covers the most ground right now with one step.

Did u see him contest the perimeter and one step swiped the ball from inside the ft line? That’s absurd length.

Kessler was doing 3 in starter time, Jackson was 3

Wemby is 7”4” he’ll pick up a couple of blocks because players can’t make that adjustment in real time. What you gonna do not drive or shoot from the outside? Lmao the modern ball today is literally 3’s, open space and layups.

Yeah, there's a shot clock, and a lot of blocks seem to occur later in the clock when guys are driving. If there's 6 seconds left on the shot clock and the pick and roll gets trapped, or you catch it on a close out but the guy is there in time for you not to shoot, and you've got a lane to attack the hoop and you're not a great shooter, you're gonna do it even if Wemby is in there. /Hubie Brown

Exactly 100%. Right now it’s quite clear he covers the most ground in close one/2 steps it won’t matter if he gets beaten off the dribble/bodied* that part is hyphenated because he’ll definitely roam as he’s been doing in preseason like it’s quite unimaginable that he wouldn’t get 2 blocks a game just from late clock situations or stuffed possessions. Then you include perimeter contests and rim protection it’s basically a block party central lol.

One of the concerns I had was how much go and motor he had but that’s now long dismissed kid goes after it that can’t be taught.

[Ell Curry]

That’s not how basketball works lol dude comfortably covers the most ground right now with one step.

Did u see him contest the perimeter and one step swiped the ball from inside the ft line? That’s absurd length.

Kessler was doing 3 in starter time, Jackson was 3

Wemby is 7”4” he’ll pick up a couple of blocks because players can’t make that adjustment in real time. What you gonna do not drive or shoot from the outside? Lmao the modern ball today is literally 3’s, open space and layups.

Yeah, there's a shot clock, and a lot of blocks seem to occur later in the clock when guys are driving. If there's 6 seconds left on the shot clock and the pick and roll gets trapped, or you catch it on a close out but the guy is there in time for you not to shoot, and you've got a lane to attack the hoop and you're not a great shooter, you're gonna do it even if Wemby is in there. /Hubie Brown

Exactly 100%. Right now it’s quite clear he covers the most ground in close one/2 steps it won’t matter if he gets beaten off the dribble/bodied* that part is hyphenated because he’ll definitely roam as he’s been doing in preseason like it’s quite unimaginable that he wouldn’t get 2 blocks a game just from late clock situations or stuffed possessions. Then you include perimeter contests and rim protection it’s basically a block party central lol.

One of the concerns I had was how much go and motor he had but that’s now long dismissed kid goes after it that can’t be taught.

Most blocks are weakside, I assume. Never actually seen any numbers on this.

I've been thinking about this because with regards to Giannis and Lopez, I don't know if Lillard being horrible on D and Jrue being great means more block opportunities as Lillard struggles to defend the point of attack and drivers get into the paint where Lopez and Giannis can get blocks, or if it means less because Jrue kept a body on guards and made teams go deep into the shot clock more.

Anyone ever seen any research or even anecdotal stuff on this? Like would the average center block more shots with solid defenders 1-4 making teams go deep into the shot clock and forcing tough attempts when they do drive, or complete turnstiles 1-4 and constant, but higher-quality drives to contest?