Victor Wembanyama has made 221 three-pointers in his young NBA career taking just 99 games to do it. For Stephen Curry, the NBA’s all-time leader for three-pointers made, it took 111 games. For the modern NBA fan, that feat while still surprising, isn’t exactly dumbfounding.
It speaks to the status of the modern NBA and its evolution around the ABA’s greatest lasting gift: the long-range shot. While the three-pointer has been available since the 1976 merger, its utilization is a revolution that can be traced back to about 10 years ago when it was capitalized by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors doing what was inconceivable at the time: win a championship based on jump-shooting.
What followed, and even preceded, were a multitude of game-changing mechanics based on spacing and shooting. (For a full breakdown of these, the book Spaced Out by Mike Prada cannot be recommended enough.) All of these are now commonplace and their impact can be observed in the play of Victor Wembanyama.
The right place at the right time
It’s a curious thought experiment to imagine what Wembanyama’s game would have looked like had he grown up in a different era. Would he have even wanted to shoot beyond the lower box had he come up in the 1980’s, ‘90’s, or even 2000’s? Would he be tossing lobs and running inverted pick-and-rolls? Most likely, perimeter shot attempts wouldn’t have gone much farther back than the mid-range and he would have shown flashes of a diverse skillset. And while those flashes would have been revered, he would have largely still operated as a traditional big, because that’s what a 7’4” center was supposed to be.
Fortunately, that’s not the universe he finds himself in. The league is bombing away from three more than ever before, and Wembanyama is part of that. Per 36 minutes, he is averaging 10.3 attempts, tied for 8th league-wide, and making them at about a league average of 35.5 percent. He’s one of two seven-footers in the top 20, along with Jay Huff at 17th. In this era, where the green light to shoot from outside has never been brighter, Wembanyama has made it a pillar of his game. It’s simultaneously a manifestation of the modern game but also a premonition of how the game continues to evolve.
The perfect marriage of athleticism and skills
Extraordinary players can mostly fit on the spectrum between two categories, those that change the game and those that perfect it. The best examples of this are Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan. O’Neal’s freak size and athleticism were a paradigm shift. Rules were altered to allow zone defense, breakaway rims were installed. The game had never seen a force so dominant. Duncan, on the other hand, operated within the subtleties of the sport rather than relying on an overwhelming physical presence. He had one of the strongest sets of basketball fundamentals the game has ever seen and used it to be dominant in a different way. He was the best at coloring inside the lines instead of drawing a whole new picture.
So where does Wembanyama sit on that spectrum?
In the exact middle.
Wembanyama is unquestionably a physical force, something the league hasn’t seen before. He can shoot over everyone and he takes full advantage of that fact to launch outside shots at a high rate. Other centers simply can’t keep up with someone who has shown no hesitation pulling up from the logo or running into a transition three. But it’s not just his height and agility that gives him an edge. He makes use of space, passing, and handling to get open looks. It’s clear he is a student of the game and unbelievably competitive. He is cultivating those fundamentals in harmony with his physical gifts, all the while persistently sharpening his basketball IQ to hold them in perfect chemistry.
A product of this era and the usher of the next one
This era was tailor-made for a player like Victor Wembanyama. Many have noted, including former Spurs executive Kirk Goldsberry on a recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, that if the 2010’s were about small ball, then the 2020’s are about skill ball. Players of all shapes and sizes have expanded their bags — they have to in order to compete in this league. Wembanyama is the peak specimen of this evolution. He’s taking his skills (which include but are not limited to three-point shooting) to the next level by combining them with his unprecedented physical tools.
The effect this will have on the future of the league could be transformational. He isn’t the first skilled big, but he could very well be the best and most impactful. Kids that will grow up to be seven-footers will be inspired to grow more aspects of their game, to defy any categorization. Coaches will have to be more creative with how to scheme for him on both sides of the ball. This is just the beginning, too. Wembanyama isn’t even close to a finished product.
All things considered, it’s no wonder he has made 200+ threes in such a short time. He benefitted from the foundation laid by those who came before him while also refusing to be limited by what a player his size has been expected to do. This era was the perfect one for him to usher in his own. In what the game has become and what it will be, there is no better time and place for him to exist — and we’re all fortunate to have front row seats for the show.
