Victor Wembanyama has shown steady improvement in his second season in the NBA, showing marginal progress in all areas of his game, especially his three-point accuracy. While the growth has been apparent, the 20-year-old has yet to solidify himself as the game-breaking talent he was touted to be, coming into the league. However, Joakim Noah doesn’t think that the NBA will have to wait for much longer to witness Wembanyama’s takeover.
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The 2014 Defensive Player of the Year lauded the young Frenchman’s development so far in his short career. “He’s definitely the next face of the league, I think the whole world can see that,” Noah said on FanDuel TV’s Run it Back.
“You see the progress, he’s so young. Like give him 2-3 years, this guy’s gonna be running the league,” the 39-year-old added.
The former NBA center also noted Wemby’s big-game experiences so early in his career, including the gold medal matchup with the United States during the 2024 Summer Olympics in front of a home crowd. France ultimately fell to the stacked Team USA roster in Paris, but it was a key moment early on in what should be a legendary career for Wembanyama.
Wemby was in peak Alien mode last night
Scoring 42 points en route to a Spurs victory over the Hawks!@JoakimNoah says Wemby will be the Face of the NBA sooner than we may expect .
Do you agree?@ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 | @MichelleDBeadle pic.twitter.com/xP666aT5FN
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 20, 2024
Noah also mentioned the importance of San Antonio adding Chris Paul during the offseason. The future Hall-of-Famer floor general has helped elevate the young Spur’s game while also feeding Wembanyama the most open looks he has seen so far in the NBA. Noah believes that the playmaker’s experience and tutelage puts Wemby on the fast track to becoming the league’s next big superstar.
By the time the 7-foot-3 “unicorn” is 23 years old, most would likely expect Wemby to rank amongst the league’s most dominant centers. Considering how good Wemby’s work ethic is, Noah’s claims aren’t necessarily the boldest.
Wemby’s sophomore season growth
Wembanyama is only outpacing one of his rookie statistics, yet has obvious improvements in his game, which emphasizes just how impressive his first season truly was. Wemby’s scoring more this year, averaging 24.5 points per game compared to the 21.4 mark from his rookie campaign.
However, the most notable increase in the big man’s box scores has been his three-point attempts. He’s chucking up over nine threes a game in 2024-25, nearly doubling his 5.5 rookie mark.
It’s essential for basically every player in the league to be able to knock down an open three these days, but it’s not what makes most of them stand out. Wemby has the complete toolbox of skills to utilize on both sides of the floor, he almost won the Defensive Player of the Year award in his rookie year.
The 2023 Draft’s #1 overall pick will need to begin diving deeper into his repertoire, prioritizing improvements to his shot creation, playmaking, and post play, to make meaningful strides in the NBA’s talent hierarchy. If he can focus on his weaknesses while continuing to hone his obvious strengths, Wembanyama could indeed be “running the league” in the next two or three years.
