Contrary to Luka Doncic making the news for dropping around 30lbs in the offseason, Victor Wembanyama has caught the imagination of the basketball world for putting on a serious amount of muscle. Of course, unlike Doncic, Wemby’s change hasn’t been as drastic, and so not as evident either.
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Wemby has apparently been putting on weight in small increments since his NBA debut in 2023. His last season was cut short due to a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Wemby has since not only made a full recovery but looks intent on making up for all that missed time. Needless to say, he has built himself for the job.
Ahead of the season, Wembanyama had spoken about how he had been the hardest-working baller in the offseason. “I feel better, I look stronger, and the scale says I’m heavier,” he told ESPN. All that prep certainly helped him in his 40-point game against the Dallas Mavericks in the season opener last week. Wemby’s play was so aggressive that Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki is essentially issuing a warning to the rest of the league.
Asserting that the Mavs had one of the best defensive lineups in the league, Nowitzki remarked at just how easily Wembanyama made them look tame. “He’s been out with that clot, obviously late in the season. It’s almost like he’s foaming at the mouth. He’s playing with joy. He got a little stronger,” said the former NBA champ.
“I feel like he’s attacking. He wants to dunk everything around the rim now. And obviously, it’s gotten better with the handle. He’s playing better off the dribble,” Nowitzki added.
“When he blocked lively, stuffed and dribbled it up between the legs, behind him, stepped back and won 3. I mean, that’s just… That’s video game stuff,” he exclaimed.
Nowitzki was particularly impressed with Wembanyama’s physique, as were other NBA analysts. According to a Western Conference scout on ESPN, the French star looks bigger and stronger. Brian Windhorst stated that Wembanyama is playing ‘bully ball’, a phrase he coined.
Wemby’s transformation, and the way he is playing now, is in stark contrast to the concerns many analysts had over how his frame might work in the NBA and whether he could handle the physical demands that American basketball demands. The subject of his weight was such a sensitive topic that when Wembanyama was asked about it last year, he had brushed it aside, calling it “fake news.”
When he joined the NBA, his weight was listed at 237 lbs. According to reports, the center could very well be in the 265-270 lbs range these days, a gain of around 30lbs.
Wemby has reportedly not been focused on achieving new PRs during weight training. He has instead been doing faster, shorter reps to focus on flexibility and mobility.
His 7’4″ frame has always made life difficult for him in the gym. But it appears he has found a way around it, or has managed to push through the problem. As far as consistency is concerned, we will have to wait to know how sustainable his physicality is over the course of a full season.
But he did follow up the 40-point highlight-reel run against the Mavs with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 blocks against the Pelicans. So the feeling is that it is going to be a nightmare for the teams that play the Spurs in the coming weeks.
