Just one season into his NBA career, and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama looks like he could end up being one of the greatest players to ever step foot on the hardwood.
That might sound like hyperbole. But it really isn’t. Wemby accomplished feats as a rookie that we have seen from very few before him. He entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick of the Spurs last June seen as a generational talent. The name LeBron James came up multiple times.
About that? The 7-foot-4 big exceeded all expectations despite San Antonio winning a mere 22 games for a second consecutive season.
- Victor Wembanyama stats (2023-24): 21.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 3.6 BPG, 47% shooting
Those are some absolutely ridiculous numbers. At issue here is the fact that San Antonio simply doesn’t have a ton of talent around Wemby. This will change soon. And according to at least one executive around the NBA, it should scare the proverbial jockstraps off opposing teams.
“The Spurs are coming because of Victor,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Pardon My Take. “I had a GM, slash, president of one of the teams who is very much in the mix for a championship right now who said to me a couple weeks ago, ‘We better all get our winning out of the way fast. We better get our winning done fast. Because once that kid has anybody around him, he’s going to win everything all the time.'”
Talk about a doom-and-gloom warning. “He’s going to win everything all the time.” This is coming from a top executive residing over a team that’s currently in the NBA Playoffs. Let that sink in for a second.
Related: Victor Wembanyama and the best NBA players of 2024
San Antonio Spurs still need to build around Victor Wembanyama
San Antonio has the fourth and eighth picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. The team will also have a capability of adding star power to the mix for Wemby. In reality, this is a crucial summer for Gregg Popovich and Co.
The Spurs don’t seem to be too interested in acquiring Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks. He’s not scene as a fit with Wembanyama. The question here is whether San Antonio will look to expedite its rebuild by acquiring a proven star. That doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.
“Next year’s draft is loaded. They could have as many as four lottery picks. I don’t think they’re going all-in on some veteran who makes $40 million or $50 million,” Wojnarowski noted. “They have to put pieces around him. He’s going to dominate this league in ways, I think on both ends of the floor, unlike we’ve seen.”
Based on what that unnamed executive said, this could give teams a one-year window before Wemby and the Spurs take over.
Considered yourself warned.