Victor Wembanyama has barely begun scratching the surface of unprecedented physical tools and burgeoning all-around talent that made him among the most hyped NBA draft prospects of all-time. After beginning his rookie season playing power forward almost exclusively, the San Antonio Spurs moved the 7'4 phenom to center in early December, a long-awaited decision that immediately paid both individual and team-wide dividends.
Wembanyama is averaging 22.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a league-leading 3.5 blocks since shifting to center full-time on December 8th. Making those gaudy numbers even more eye-popping? They've come despite Wemby playing just 27.2 minutes per game, the consequence of a playing time restriction poised to soon be lifted.
The 20-year-old isn't just stuffing the stat sheet on empty calories, either. San Antonio's overall net rating over the last 22 games is -5.8, per NBA.com/stats. With Wembanyama on the floor, though, the Spurs have been outscored by just 1.1 points per 100 possessions, the result of a 112.2 defensive rating that would rank fourth in the league over that timeframe—and dips all the way down to a team-worst 119.9 when he's on the bench.
Wembanyama is already one of the most impactful defenders in basketball. He may not garner First Team All-Defense honors as rookie, but that's more a reflection of San Antonio's bottom-dwelling place in the standings and Wemby beginning his debut campaign playing out of position than any major deficiencies compared to other top-tier interior defenders. He's truly one of one on that side of the ball.
Offense is where the Frenchma needs to take the biggest strides going forward, a frightening thought for the rest of the league given how much more effective he's been as a scorer playing the five. Wembanyama boasts an above-average 58.7 true shooting percentage since shifting to center, no surprise considering improved overall shot selection marked most by increased opportunities at the rim. Before then? He was one of the most inefficient high-usage players in the NBA, sporting an ugly 52.2 true shooting percentage on par with Jordan Poole's.
No one is doubting just how much room to grow Wembanyama has offensively. Even the most optimistic appraisers of his ultimate ceiling, though, may not believe in the scale of Wembanyama's offensive evolution as much as Metta Sandiford-Artest. Amid a rash of historic single-game scoring performances, the former Los Angeles Lakers champion and Indiana Pacers star believes Wembanyama will be the one to break Wilt Chamberlain's inconceivable 100-point record—eventually, at least.
“Once he gets a little bit bigger and continues to get smarter, works on his game and continues to do yoga, he will score 101 points,” Sandiford-Artest, neé World Peace, told Mark Media of Sportskeeda. “I think it’ll take him five to eight years to score 101 points.”
Why Victor Wembanyama really could break Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record
Wembanyama isn't a heliocentric lead playmaker like Luka Doncic or even Joel Embiid, both of whom broke the brains of basketball fans earlier this month by dropping 70 points. Maybe he develops into that type of all-encompassing driver of offense in time; Wembanyama certainly has the burgeoning shooting touch, ball skills and even passing ability to play that role down the line.
But among the many attributes that separate him from any other player in NBA history is just how impossible it is for defenders to stop Wembanyama around the rim, especially now that he's entrenched at center. There's literally never been a lob threat like him. It's no coincidence San Antonio's best offense has come when Wembanyama shares the floor with Tre Jones, the team's lone traditional point guard.
He's shooting 50.4% on passes coming directly from Jones, per NBA.com/stats, and has been assisted by the Spurs floor general an easy team-high of 57 times. Not all of those connections have come in ball-screen situations, with Wembanyama diving to the rim for towering alley-oops or even popping to the arc for open triples. Jones has simply found Wembanyama at the rim more often within random offense than any of his teammates, too, letting the French wunderkind's unbelievable blend of length and coordination do the rest.
That physical trump card is what makes Wembanyama's case to break Chamberlain's record especially strong. Chamberlain, of course, was probably a bigger physical outlier during his playing days than Wembanyama is now. But he didn't have a three-point line to launch from, and Wembanyama's jumper will only tighten further from here.
Doncic and Embiid are definitely realistic candidates to reach the triple-digit scoring threshold. Their usage and scoring versatility is mind-bending. Yet effortless as their 70-point outings seemed, neither of them pose the imminent, unavoidable threat to defenses near the basket Wembanyama already does.
That reality combined with more skill development to inevitably come lends heavy credence to Sandiford-Artest's bold claim about the rookie scoring 101 points in the future. Wembanyama, after all, is already making everything on a basketball court seem possible. Why not breaking the NBA's most hallowed individual record, too?
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