In taking NBA Rookie of the Year honors, San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama joined NBA on TNT where he took questions from players-turned-commentators Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith along with host Ernie Johnson Jr.
“My goals are always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on,” the 20-year-old unanimous winner told Johnson. “I knew that in order to do that, I had to be good, individually, on the court and dominant. It was a huge thing for me. I think big it's a big thing to get. It's always been really important, I'm glad it's finally official.”
Victor Wembanyama takes Rookie of the Year questions from NBA greats
O'Neal, who fell two first place votes shot of earning his Rookie of the Year unanimously, asked the fellow first overall pick of a draft, what aspect of his game Wemby's looking to improve.
“There's plenty of stuff I plan in working on. Physically, of course, the work is never going to be done. I've had my plan for months ready for all of my body. We're going to keep discovering new ways to get better and to work on my body.”
The 7-foot-four big man then pivoted to on the on-court matters.
“For basketball, there's a lot I want to work on. There's a lot Pop [Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich] and the coaches want me to work on. I'm excited. A big thing I can tell you is I'm already working on my balance and the use of my strength and learning to do use my body better in the space.”
Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren finished second behind Wembanyama, getting all but one of the 99 votes for second place. Charlotte Hornets rookie Brandon Miller received the remaining second place vote in finishing third. Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez, Jr. was fourth, Golden State Warrior Brandin Podziemski fifth and Dallas Mavericks big Derrick Lively rounded out the top six.
“As an athlete, there's no contest, it's the best country in the world,” the French phenom answered Barkley about the transition to the United States. “For an athlete, the culture, everything, the infrastructure is made for us to thrive.
“I'm really in a bubble. I'm living a very privileged life as an NBA player and there's a lot of people taking care of me every day, even when I don't notice it,” Wemby continued as he thanked those closest to him. “This award is also for them, they play an important role. America is really the only place where things like this are possible. I think my family have adapted pretty well and they've done a good job not being overwhelmed by all of this. The first thing is, I'm their son, their brother and they're still my parents, my siblings. I'm glad we can keep living like this like before.”
It's easy to forget now, but the Spurs leading scorer didn't win either of the season's first two Rookie of the Month awards.
“Statistically, the simple stats and the advanced stats, everything pretty much got better. What I made big efforts on were the play making and the shot selection,” ” Wembanyama told Smith.
“After the minutes restrictions I had, I had to get back into a good shape to play more than 30, 35 minutes. The cardio, I think I've made huge improvements on. I've never gotten so much better in such a short few months, so I'm really glad.”
Scary thing for the rest of the NBA: he's got several months now to simply focus on getting that much better. And he's still just 20 years old.
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