Upon witnessing San Antonio Spurs rookie, Victor Wembanyama almost single-handedly dismantle the Phoenix Suns in dominating fashion, NBA analyst Skip Bayless was over the moon. He had been critical of Wembanyama’s performance in his first four games of the season, but all of that changed after the game against the Suns. However, Bayless still had one issue with Wemby’s game, which prompted him to yell at his TV during the Suns vs Spurs contest.
In his recent appearance on Undisputed, the FS1 host expressed his dissatisfaction with the 7’4 phenom not taking advantage of his height. Bayless emphasized how the Phoenix Suns were putting smaller guards on Victor and he did nothing to capitalize on the mismatch.
This resulted in a flustered Skip Bayless screaming at Wembanyama through his TV screen: “I have pounded this table. ‘Victor, you’re 7’4, you’re 8 feet long.’ Phoenix…opened the game last night with Devin Booker guarding Victor Wembanyama because he was just drifting out and camping out at the three-point line. And they’re thinking yea, ‘We can put a 6’5 guy on you because who cares, you’re not gonna punish him.’ I’m yelling at my TV, ‘Victor just call for the basketball.‘”
Bayless pointed out that if Wembanyama just had the ball in his hands, there’s no way Booker could’ve guarded him. The 71-year-old became even more riled up when a 6 ft 3″ Eric Gordon started guarding the French sensation for a few possessions.
However, it seems like the yelling worked as Victor Wembanyama eventually started dominating the paint against the smaller guards. It left Bayless ecstatic to see Wembanyama’s breakthrough night come to fruition against a Suns team led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
“Finally, he [Wemby] started picking and rolling to the basket. And finally, when little guys were on him, he started to go down to the low post and call for the basketball and guess what, ladies and gentleman, he became unstoppable in the paint last night. Because he took 13 paint shots which is by far the most he’s taken and he had ten makes,” Bayless added.
“Last night was a breakthrough night for Victor. He became unstoppable in the paint.”
@RealSkipBayless on Wemby’s 38 points in win over Suns pic.twitter.com/c6Qcl5HhGR— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 3, 2023
This performance for Victor is just the tip of the iceberg of what could turn out to be an all-time great career. As he starts getting into his groove, Wemby could be a nightmare for defenders in the NBA. But for now, he has just taken his first step towards greatness.
Victor Wembanyama brings down the curtains on Devin Booker’s first NBA Game
It was indeed a breakthrough night for Victor Wembanyama. Playing against his favorite player for the second time, Wembanyama went all out to put up a career-high double-double of 38 points and 10 rebounds. Not to mention he also had a couple of blocks for his squad. One of the players on the receiving end of the rampage was Devin Booker.
This was Booker’s first NBA game returning from his toe injury. He had a slow start but ended the game with a rebound shy of a triple-double. However, all his efforts were rendered useless because of Victor’s dominance.
The will to break opponents, especially on a night that matters most is what constitutes a killer mentality. It’s that mentality that can make or break a player. Fortunately for Victor, it seems he has found his will and with coming challenges, the only thing he needs to do is nurture it.
