“The Ball was Too Small”: Victor Wembanyama Reveals How he Altered His Shooting Action to Not Struggle Like Shaquille O’Neal on Free Throws

Victor Wembanyama has time and again proven his all-round skills to be beyond that of a traditional big man. Despite being a 7 ft 4″ center, Wemby’s game on the court can be as smooth and fluid as a shifty guard a foot shorter than him. However, the French prodigy never stops honing his skills to improve every aspect of his game.

While there have been several great big men before Wemby, most of them have had problems when it came to shooting the basketball. Most notably, the Big Diesel, Shaquille O’Neal struggled with his three-pointers and free throws. In his 19-season-long career, Shaq had shot 22 three-pointers and had scored just one of them. Furthermore, Shaq also had an abysmal free-throw percentage of 52.7% on 9.3 free-throw attempts per game in the regular season.

In a recent appearance on Tony Parker’s SKWEEK show, Wemby discussed his transition from Europe to the United States and his journey in achieving fluidity while shooting his foul shots. Like fellow big man Shaq, Wemby also had trouble shooting the ball as it seemed too small for his hands. However, he later learned to adapt his way of shooting by practicing free throws regularly. “You know, recently I had to change something, because I felt the ball was too small,” the Spurs rookie told Parker.

“I really felt that. Because I tried to hold the ball like that with my fingers, and my thumb was bothering me when I shot, because I was shooting like that [shows his previous shooting action]. And you can’t shoot well if your thumb is in front of the ball. So I changed my shot a little bit. But when I was young, no, it’s just free throw practice,” he added.

Parker proceeded to attempt a Shaq joke after hearing about Wemby’s free throw drills. However, the Spurs veteran stopped himself midway before chuckling with Wembanyama about the same.

As the 19-year-old progresses through his rookie season, his stats currently stand at 20.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, at 50% field-goal percentage. Perhaps the transition to the NBA and all the efforts to up the ante is working out for the French prodigy.

The hype around Victor Wembanyama and his versatile skillset

Victor Wembanyama was perhaps the most hyped rookie prospect since LeBron James in this year’s NBA Draft. The San Antonio Spurs selected the French star as their first overall pick after months of speculation and almost a kind of frenzy surrounding his capabilities.

Since his early days in France’s LNB Pro A league, Wemby’s versatility and skillset had drawn the attention of the fans from the NBA community. It’s interesting to note how Commissioner Adam Silver had proclaimed that the league would pay ‘particular attention’ to acquiring a ‘once-in-a-generation’ player like Wembanyama.

Wembanyama’s scoring profile can be assessed from his capabilities as a skilled three-point shooter and a prolific scorer in the paint. Wemby particularly excels in post moves and pick-and-rolls, which draws attention away from his traditional role as a big-man center. However, let that not cloud the fact that the French prodigy’s height gives him outstanding shot-blocking skills, evident from the last few games.

Wemby’s skills have prompted comparisons with greats such as Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, he seems to be taking a different approach to the game, modeling his skills and talents after his idols Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.