All eyes are on the No. 1 Draft pick Victor Wembanyama this preseason, as the expectation over his game has only increased ever since he made his debut during July’s Summer League action. Ever since the French sensation landed in San Antonio, fans and experts have been wondering how will he exhibit his unique set of skills, starting off with his position on the court.
As the seven-footer is widely thought of as a center, he can also handle the ball as a point guard and even shoot from afar. In a recent interview, he told the press that he’s ready to play in whatever position the Spurs require him to perform.
“There really are no limitations. On a lot of set plays, on a lot of plays, it really depends on where you are. I can be the point guard just as I can be the wing. It doesn’t matter,” he said this Wednesday.
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama is ready to go to work 🔒
(via @wemby/ IG) pic.twitter.com/OZaZAA0nio
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 4, 2023
During that day’s practice session, Wembanyama experienced a very particular experience that can only be perceived as an honor. “It came later than I expected,” he said. “But finally, I’m glad [Spurs coach] yelled at me.”
That was the call of his captain, the legendary Gregg Popovich, who will decide where and how he’ll play the 19-year-old on court this 2023/24 season. As for Wemby, he’s just out to prove there’s no limits to his versatility.
“What is coming fast is all the information, the new set plays, the principles,” the big man explained. “It’s a lot, a lot of stuff I have never seen before and don’t know. It’s hard. You have to be focused when you are on the court because if you lose attention one second, you’re screwed for the next 15 seconds.”
Just by witnessing these first practices in San Antonio, you can tell that Wembanyama is serving as the centerpiece of it all. The young French star already finds himself taking on a lot of responsibilities during these first days of training camp.
Wembanyama is well aware that the coaching staff is preparing him to be able to play in almost any position on the court this upcoming campaign
The 19-year-old’s freakish versatility has only brought more pressure over him, kind of like a superhero movie stating that “with great power, comes great responsibility.”
“It just goes without saying that I’m playing sometimes the same role as [point guard] Tre Jones, sometimes the same as [center] Zach Collins, sometimes the same as [guard-forward] Devin Vassell,” the rising star said.
Veteran Doug McDermott explained that the time to experiment with the lineup positions is yet to come, for now it will be more about learning to play with each other.
“It will be different,” he shared. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are interchangeable. With Jeremy [Sochan], he has an unorthodox game where he can play a point-forward [role]. You’ve got Keldon [Johnson] and Devin [Vassell] who are both scorers, and then Zach [Collins] who can really stretch the floor as a five-man. It’s going to be really cool to see. We’re working on everyone being in different spots. You’ll never know where [we’re] going to be on the floor.”
