Victor Wembanyama seems determined to follow up on his Rookie of the Year award-winning season with an All-Star-caliber campaign. The San Antonio Spurs star posted pictures of his workout session with Jamal Crawford, the retired guard best known for his otherworldly ball-handling ability. Kevin Garnett was initially pleased to see the Frenchman working on his craft but then advised him to reach out to legends closer to his size.
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The Hall of Famer named three retired MVP award-winning superstars that Wembanyama should work with to understand how to use his 7-foot-4 frame to dominate on the offensive end. He said on Ticket and the Truth,
“If I am Wemby, I’m doing like a three-part. I work with Jamal Crawford, but then I go find Timmy (Tim Duncan). I go find Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon). He needs to be out there KD (Kevin Durant)… I’m talking about he needs to go tap into some knowledge. He needs to go see one Sensei.”
Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Kevin Durant are among the most decorated players in NBA history. All three used their size, nifty footwork, and impeccable ball-handling and shot-making to score at will and build Hall of Fame resumes.
Wembanyama is already a force of nature on the defensive end. However, there’s plenty of scope to improve on offense, which he can do by tapping into the trio’s knowledge.
The Frenchman is a keen learner and would likely be open to working out with all three icons, as he did with Crawford, who has been teaching him new moves to improve his offensive output.
Jamal Crawford lifts the lid on his relationship with Victor Wembanyama
On the Dan Patrick Show, the host invited Crawford to shed light on his surprise link-up with Wembanyama. The retired guard revealed that he built a rapport with the Frenchman during the All-Star weekend, which led to them working together in the offseason. He revealed,
“We hook up at the All-Star weekend and I show him some freestyle moves and from there a relationship kinda took off… I showed him a wrap-around move… It’s only reserved for tall guards. [Only] Guys with long arms can pull this off. I thought he could take it to the next level.”
Crawford revealed that while he was teaching Wembanyama the move, the rest of the players on the court stopped practicing to observe, prompting the retired guard to keep the lesson brief. He’s now spending more time with the Spurs star to help him perfect the move and add it to his already impressive bag of tricks.
Wembanyama possesses incredible ball-handling skills for a player his size. His taking lessons from one of the best ball-handlers in league history is a scary sight for the rest of the NBA, especially considering how difficult it already was to contain the Frenchman.
