Wembanyamarama
- Thread starter Euclis20
- Start date
It kind of blows my mind that he doesn't lead the NBA in dunks, given plays like that were he can just turn pretty much any pass within a ten-foot radius of the hoop into a dunk. He's "only" 9th with 139 dunks on the season, in between Derek Lively and Jarrett Allen. Giannis is first with 220 dunks, followed by Gobert, Anthony Davis, Aaron Gordon, Daniel Gafford, Nic Claxton and Jalen Duren.
Dude isn’t even remotely close to his physical peak either. Going to be so fun. Just stay healthy. And get him some help!
Depends on how you look at it. How many teams would be better if you took out their best player and replaced him with Victor? I can see an argument of "everyone but Denver", and the answer might actually be everyone but Denver and Boston, because the upgrade from KP to Wemby, while real, isn't as huge as it would be for most teams. Like it's not even clear to me that most teams would be better off with Giannis than with Wemby at this point.
The way NBA voters actually do the MVP voting takes team success / context into account a lot, plus narrative / rep / vibes. Wembanyama will have to prove himself for several years and have a better team before he becomes a legit contender for winning it. But someone throwing him a 4th or 5th place vote wouldn't be crazy to me, either, given how completely unstoppable he is out there, on both ends.
The way NBA voters actually do the MVP voting takes team success / context into account a lot, plus narrative / rep / vibes. Wembanyama will have to prove himself for several years and have a better team before he becomes a legit contender for winning it. But someone throwing him a 4th or 5th place vote wouldn't be crazy to me, either, given how completely unstoppable he is out there, on both ends.
Wait you’re talking about right now, in 2024?? That’s lunacy.
I’m a big Wemby fan and I like him in the discussion for 3rd team all NBA this year. But no chance he’s an upgrade on everyone but Jokic this year.
Yeah, let's keep our shirts on.
The Ringer Top 100 currently has him at 24 (last updated 11 days ago). You can make the case that he's vaulted Lillard (23), Sabonis (22), Bam (21) and maybe a couple others... but high teens is as high as I can reasonably put him right now. Starting with Anthony Edwards at 17, I don't see how he'd be an upgrade over any of the remaining players (well, maybe Jimmy Butler, whose #13 ranking is largely about respect for the specter of Playoff Jimmy).
The Ringer Top 100 currently has him at 24 (last updated 11 days ago). You can make the case that he's vaulted Lillard (23), Sabonis (22), Bam (21) and maybe a couple others... but high teens is as high as I can reasonably put him right now. Starting with Anthony Edwards at 17, I don't see how he'd be an upgrade over any of the remaining players (well, maybe Jimmy Butler, whose #13 ranking is largely about respect for the specter of Playoff Jimmy).
With all-NBA being positionless, he shouldn't get any of those votes either. Yes, he has been phenomenal since all-star break (or whatever arbitrary cutoff people are using), but all-NBA is, and should be an all season award. The guy is incredible defensively, no doubt, but he has a TS% of .562. That is bad. Especially bad for a center
I believe it's listed as 8 feet, which is the best among active players (narrowly ahead of Gobert and Bamba, but still solidly behind Tacko).
Yeah if positions were still taken into account, it could get interesting (especially with Embiid not qualifying). After Jokic, here would be the contenders for 2nd and 3rd team center:
-Anthony Davis
-JJJ
-Sengun
-Sabonis
-Bam
-Jarrett Allen
-Gobert
Are two of those guys definitely better than Wembanyama this year? AD sure, but Wemby would have a punchers chance against Bam/Sabonis/Gobert for the 3rd spot.
After securing the win the other day, Wemby did this - high-fived a fan and tossed the ball into the stands - and he's been fined $25k for it.
View: https://twitter.com/kicks/status/1774512778889535760
I think it's awesome enough he should make it "his thing" and just see if the league will keep fining him. It's not like there's some big risk to the spectators or something, and the game is, by definition, over if he's doing this.
View: https://twitter.com/kicks/status/1774512778889535760
I think it's awesome enough he should make it "his thing" and just see if the league will keep fining him. It's not like there's some big risk to the spectators or something, and the game is, by definition, over if he's doing this.
I'll be happy if he just does it the next time Giannis hits some personal milestone or record.
Plus some lucky fan gets a great souvenir
I'll never understand why NFL & NBA teams don't let players just toss balls into the stands after TDs or at the buzzer
I spent $800 on 2 tickets & all the snacks for me and my kid a few months ago for OKish seats. The Clippers could have afforded tossing a few balls into the stands at the end (rewards those hardcore fans that stay until the end).
Totally agree. If tennis players can sign a few balls and then knock a few into the stands with their racket, surely a (signed?) basketball could be lightly tossed towards some aware and cheering fans.
These leagues must avoid fans identifying the chips in their equipment which would disclose info on their “scripted” games. Gotta protect the brand.Plus some lucky fan gets a great souvenir
I'll never understand why NFL & NBA teams don't let players just toss balls into the stands after TDs or at the buzzer
Not to mention that it would allow the fans to check to see if the balls are properly inflated.
Rookie seasons:
Wemby: 29.2 MPG, .468 FG%, 10.5 REB, 3.6 AST, 3.4 BLK, 21.2 PPG
Ralph Sampson: 32.8 MPG*, .523 FG%, 11.1 REB, 2.0 AST, 2.4 BLK, 21.0 PPG
* played all 82 games
A reminder (a) how good Ralph's rookie year was and (b) that the Wemby Experience can still play out in any one of several different directions. Of course, Sampson was three years older and had correspondingly more mileage on his knees, so that's one point in favor of Wemby with the comparison.
Wemby: 29.2 MPG, .468 FG%, 10.5 REB, 3.6 AST, 3.4 BLK, 21.2 PPG
Ralph Sampson: 32.8 MPG*, .523 FG%, 11.1 REB, 2.0 AST, 2.4 BLK, 21.0 PPG
* played all 82 games
A reminder (a) how good Ralph's rookie year was and (b) that the Wemby Experience can still play out in any one of several different directions. Of course, Sampson was three years older and had correspondingly more mileage on his knees, so that's one point in favor of Wemby with the comparison.
the block numbers are in different stratospheres. way more shots were blockable in sampson era just based on where they were taking them
To support this - Wemby leads the league with 3.4 BPG, second place is several players at 2.4. In 1983-84, Mark Eaton led with 4.3, Tree Rollins had 3.4, and Sampson was in third place with 2.4.
Each team is currently averaging 5.1 BPG, in 83-84 they averaged 5.3.
I bet Wemby leads the league in number of blocks that are directed DOWN. He's like a roof on some of those shots.
That was cool. The idiotic long 2 in transition from the Spurs before the second Wemby basket is also emblematic of his supporting cast.
Assuming good health, whenever he gets some teammates who realize that he's the best player in the NBA.
As has been mentioned in lots of rumours, if the Spurs get Trae Young, I think he'd likely win MVP.
There is literally no play making outside of him in San Antonio. He is practically begging for lobs. If I was San Antonio I would looking to overpay Tyus Jones next year.
Edit - If I was San Antonio, I would probably go after Tobias Harris and Jones.
You would need to surround the two with perimeter defenders but they would be really good together.
VanVleet was the ideal PG for this team last summer. I would have loved to see that pairing.
San Antonio having (potentially) two top-10 picks this year should prove interesting. These two plus Wemby should be giving Pop the fountain of youth to coach for a few more years.
(EDIT: the second pick is from the Raptors, but is top-6 protected).
(EDIT: the second pick is from the Raptors, but is top-6 protected).
Tobias Harris is garbage. I mean he is a fine player but he is not anyone I would be targeting.
Wemby is the best way to hide Young defensively, and Young is the best [realistic] player to pair with Wemby to maximize the latter's offense. The fact that Atlanta is clearly at a crossroads is a good thing for the Spurs.
Maybe they end up getting someone great with another top pick in June, but I think the Spurs really missed the boat by not paying for either FVV or Reaves (not a point guard, but he'd be better for Wemby offensively than anyone currently on the Spurs). Lord knows the Spurs have historically had good lottery luck, but after seeming like a lock for top 3 lottery odds (at worst) all year, they're now just a game out of 5th.
Last edited:
He is good citizen / senior player who has played with Embiid and has playoff experience. You do a lot worse than 40/2 with an third year option on Harris if you are San Antonio, especially if you go after Trae.
Oh I agree. The current state of the Spurs is horrific. The roster outside Wemby and maybe Vassell is entirely forgettable. I don't think anything in the draft this year is going to change that or accelerate Wemby's timeline.
That said Sarr or Shepard would be interesting next to Wemby. Shepard doesn't make sense if you are going after Young though.
Last edited:
Landing in SA would be a godsend for Trae in that guiding dribble penetration into the lane the way Utah schemed it with Mitchell and Gobert would almost be too natural for Trae.
Trae’s defensive warts are very, very real, but he’s a top 3-5 offensive engine in basketball. Pop is (or was) an incredible coach at masking weaknesses. Then take into account that he’d have someone who will be one of the all time great safety nets, behind him.
If they get Trae, make another couple decent signings. and hit on their pick or picks, I think they win 45+ games next season.
If they get Trae, make another couple decent signings. and hit on their pick or picks, I think they win 45+ games next season.
In a recent podcast, Simmons did a ranking of top players that I found weirdly spot on, where he landed with Wemby at 15.
I remember all the players he had over ranked over Vic, but likely have some players in the wrong spot by a peg or two:
1. Jokic
2. Giannis
3. Luka
4. SGA
5. Tatum
6. Durant
7. Kawhi
8. Curry
9. Embiid
10. AD
11. Booker
12. Lebron
13. Brunson
14. Ant
15. Wembanyama
So: behind James, Brunson, Ant but ahead of guys like Haliburton, Butler, Mitchell, PG13. To me, that feels right.
A good ESPN article giving a rundown on Year 1 of the Wemby Era:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39861814/inside-year-one-victor-wembanyama-era
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39861814/inside-year-one-victor-wembanyama-era