The San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is edging towards what is expected to be a landmark season for both him and the franchise. After his 2024-25 campaign was cut short due to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right shoulder, the Spurs failed to qualify for the postseason, finishing 13th in the Western Conference.
Now, a fully-fit, recharged, and well, taller Wembanyama returns to lead an even deeper roster looking for the franchise’s first postseason qualification since the 2018-19 campaign. Bill Simmons recently spoke at length about Wembanyama’s new height, claiming that the franchise continues to lie about it.
“By the way, congrats to the Spurs for finally admitting he’s 7’5. It’s just little baby steps until everyone admits he’s 7’6, which he actually is. But at least we’re going with 7’5 now,” he said on The Bill Simmons podcast.
Wembanyama had previously been listed at 7-foot-3.5 on the Spurs’ official roster, undergoing a growth of 1.5 inches last year. Simmons believes this is something a range of NBA stars have done in the past.
“Kareem always lied, Bill Walton always lied, Durant is another height liar. These height liars know who they are. Kevin Durant is at least 7’1. What does he say he is? Like 6’10?” he claimed.
Simmons believes there is considerable politics at play when it comes to franchises listing player heights. He claimed that teams in the NBA tend to lie about heights for players who do not necessarily fit the mold when it comes to how tall players in their positions should be.
However, this is only true when it comes to players who are taller than what is generally expected from stars in that position. For example, Kevin Durant does not want to be viewed as a 7-foot center, which is why he is generally listed at 6-foot-11.
At the same time, undersized players who might be under 6-foot are generally listed at around 6-foot-2 simply because they may seem less valuable when it comes to free agency or the draft. Hence, Simmons effectively believes that the reason Wemby is still listed only at 7-foot-5 is that a 7-foot-6 center may be viewed as a slow, unathletic player.
He gave examples of former stars such as Shawn Bradley and Yao Ming, claiming that Wemby is still taller than 7-foot-5.
