Victor Wembanyama is experiencing a dream start to his NBA career. Within months of entering the league, the Spurs rookie seemed to have impressed almost all the pundits and experts of the game. Recently, 2007 NBA Coach of the Year, Sam Mitchell, heaped praise on the 20-year-old, claiming that Wemby is going to be a big problem for the league in the coming years.
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During a recent appearance on NBA TV, Mitchell detailed what makes Wembanyama a great player and how he is only going to get better with time. He said, “What we’re about to see in the next 2 or 3 years, we’re about to see the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year all rolled into one.”
According to the NBA veteran, Wemby has a decided advantage over the other guys in the NBA because of his size. He can score at will and can guard the best players in the league with ease. Mitchell further added that once Wembanyama develops some more strength and gets quicker on his feet, it’ll be game over for everyone. Because all the French National has to do is to get to his spot and shoot. He is already head and shoulders over the other players on the floor.
“What we’re about to see in the next 2 or 3 years, we’re about to see the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year all rolled into one.” @SamMitchellNBA on Wemby pic.twitter.com/cktCHHRUzb
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 24, 2024
The ex-NBA coach is also impressed by the defensive game of Wemby. He said that even if a player spaces himself out for a shot, it’s almost impossible to shoot the ball when the 7’4 rookie is standing right in front. The 60-year-old said, “If you beat him, you gotta beat him by half a mile. He can reach and still block your shot.” Mitchell added that the Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is yet to figure out how to use Wemby properly on the court. But once he does, the league will be in trouble because every team will have figure out how to get past him every single game.
Wembanyama is averaging 20.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists this season, and has been by far the best Spurs’ best player this year. He is also tallying 3.5 blocks per game, per StatMuse. So Mitchell is certainly not far off in his assessment.
Victor Wembanyama knows he’s not getting DPOY this year
The basketball world has reached an unofficial verdict as far as the Rookie of the Year title is concerned. Wembanyama is at the top of everyone’s list for his first major individual title in the league. However, there was a lot of discussion regarding him also being a DPOY contender for the season. Even though several experts claimed that the race between him and Rudy Gobert is a close one, Wemby has accepted that this is not going to be his year for the DPOY title.
He said on the matter, “I know that Rudy (Gobert) has a very good chance of winning it this year, and it would be deserved.” Surprisingly, he concluded his comment with a cocky prediction for the future of this title. Wemby added, “Let him win it now, because after that it’s no longer his turn.” The 20-year-old is not only making his presence felt in the league but is also setting himself up for bigger discussions in the years to come. With so many expectations riding on his shoulders, it’ll be interesting to see how Wemby manages to live up to all of it.
