San Antonio Spurs phenom and former No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama continues to dazzle fans with his offensive arsenal and range as they play the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. In the first quarter of the Blazers game, Wemby took an inverted screen and hit a rainbow three that splashed into the hoop. Moreover, even the NBA couldn't help but share the replay of the Frenchman's three-pointer.
Here's the replay of Wembanyama's shot posted on the NBA's official account on X, formerly Twitter.
The Spurs' star continues to shine
Victor Wembanyama's outside shooting against the Blazers has dazzled Spurs fans, who reacted to the shot online.
First, @directedbysunny uploaded a meme in reaction the ball taking forever to fall into the hoop from the rainbow shot.
Then, user @aykeepitabuck also uploaded a graphic featuring Wembanyama's admiration for his idol Kevin Durant, while also echoing the earlier sentiment about his high-arching shot.
However, not everyone was impressed.
For instance, @Ar15Mvp said, “here goes the one highlight play lol now they gon act like he hasn't been ass all season,” while @HowlandHorns added, “Yall gotta stop amping regular plays lol. He hit a regular 3 off a pick lol.”
Moreover, @unclejee44 mentioned that Wembanyama might want to factor the fact that he's almost always the tallest person on the court into his shot selection.
“Good he hit this but part of the reason he's having a slow start to the year is too much perimeter play, hate to sound like an old head but it's true,” the user said.
Likewise, @SpursOwnNba uploaded a graphic contrasting the French phenom's shooting percentages in the paint and beyond the arc. True enough, despite this three-pointer, Wemby has only shot an abysmal 21.4% from downtown so far this season.
Finally, @Chewwie15 said, “That looks so stupid, your 7'4 get your ass in the paint.”
Is Wemby really unstoppable?
While Victor Wembanyama does play like a taller Kevin Durant, particularly with his fluidity with the ball, he hasn't quite reached his idol's level of being unguardable yet.
For instance, teams would rather play the percentages and dare Wemby to make tough logo threes, especially if he takes them at high volume. Given his shooting at this point, playing like Durant might actually work to his disadvantage.
The Frenchman might need to work on a reliable shot that he could go to whenever he starts struggling, like the Spurs' previous star big man Tim Duncan, who killed opponents with his patented bank shot from the elbow.
Likewise, he might want to operate closer to the basket more often, since he's almost always the tallest player on the court. Taking hook shots once or twice a game won't hurt. It doesn't look as beautiful as a tween-tween-hesi jumpshot, but two points is two points.
Still, Wembanyama has a lot of talent, and the Spurs look forward to Gregg Popovich coming back to the bench to help guide him towards unlocking his full potential.