When DeMar DeRozan appeared on Podcast P with Paul George, the Kings’ forward reflected on his stint in San Antonio. That’s when PG asked DeMar how he expected Victor Wembanyama to grow under the tutelage of his former coach, Gregg Popovich.
DeMar believed the Alien would most benefit from playing under Popovich due to the intangibles. “I don’t think he could’ve went to a better place, a better person, a better situation,” answered DeRozan. “The discipline, the hunger, the drive, the motivation,” were all facets of the game DeRozan expected Wemby to excel in by working with Coach Pop.
The 35-year-old stated that this development was already visible when the 7’4 big suited up for Team France this year. Paul George couldn’t help but agree that Wembanyama’s growth spoke for itself. The Kings forward also spoke on how the experience could further embolden the 20-year-old.
“We know how playing in the Olympics, what that do for your confidence as it is. You coming out of that type of experience understanding you bout to be under Pop again. And also CP!“
When put like that, it sounds like DeMar is issuing a warning to the league. Not only is Wembanyama going to come back and do the same ridiculous things he did last season, he’s going to return with more confidence and, of course, with the Point God by his side.
The Jeremy Sochan experiment slowed the first half of Victor’s rookie season down. With the Polish-American forward running point for the team, the French star was unable to exploit all the advantages he created. There were a multitude of plays where the Frenchman was set up in the post but didn’t receive an entry pass, or was entirely missed while running the floor on the fast-break.
Now, with the third-highest assist-getter in NBA history by his side, all of that is going to change. DeMar expects that the addition of Chris Paul will get Wemby “those three to four to five easy buckets a game, on top of what he already was doing the year before.”
That alone can set the young Frenchman up for an easy 3o points a game. Then, there’s his defense. With 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals, Wembanyama finished his rookie season as the runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year. It helped him become the first rookie in NBA history to receive first-team All-Defense honors.
