There have been many expectations set upon Victor Wembanyama. From rumblings of Most Improved Participant to the following Defensive Participant of the Yr, Wemby’s spectacular play has to this point lived as much as his pre-draft predicted hype.
Personally, I feel that is the 12 months that Victor Wembanyama joins the Quadruple-Double Membership.
There are solely 4 members of this unique club- Nate Thurman, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. Alvin Robertson and David Robinson bought their quad-dubs as members of the San Antonio Spurs. All 4 occurred between 1974 and 1994. Within the final thirty years, nobody has achieved it, although a couple of have come shut.
In 1986, Clyde Drexler was one rebound shy of pulling it off.
In 1988. Michael Jordan was two steals in need of becoming a member of the listing.
In 2003, Tim Duncan wanted two blocks to make it occur within the NBA Finals. Was he actually lacking two blocks?
And on April 2 of this 12 months, Victor Wembanyama was two assists and one block from becoming a member of the membership.
Final 12 months, Wemby had 43 double-doubles, essentially the most for rookies final season. Twenty greater than Chet Holmgren and thirty greater than Amen Thompson, the third highest of final season’s rookie class.
He averaged a double-double in factors and rebounds in his rookie.
On March 29 in opposition to the New York Knicks, Victor scored a season excessive 40 factors. His common of 21.4 ought to make scoring in double-digits a no brainer. In actual fact, in solely three video games that he scored in single digits.
In that very same March 29 sport, Wemby additionally had 20 rebounds, a feat he achieved twice final season. Of his 71 video games final season, he pulled down double-digit boards in 44 of them.
Final season, Victor had only one sport through which he earned double-digit dimes. On January 10 in opposition to the Detroit Pistons, he dished out ten assists. This was his first triple-double.
As for blocks, not solely has Wemby impressed the basketball universe, however in his 71 video games he acquired extra blocks than 95% of all of the gamers to ever put on a Spurs uniform.
Within the historical past of the NBA, his acquired blocks in these 71 video games surpasses over 84% of each participant who has tallied blocks since they grew to become a statistic.
For one more perspective, Wembanyama ranks 608th out of 3916 NBA gamers during the last fifty years. Be mindful, lots of these gamers had a number of seasons and far more than 71 video games.
Wemby is at present 608th out of three,916 gamers in profession blocks in the course of the STL/BLK Period (1973-74).
— Additional Muse (@extra_muse) August 14, 2024
That mentioned, he solely tallied 10 blocks in a single sport, February 12 in opposition to the Toronto Raptors. This was his second triple-double.
Alas, it’s blocks and assists the place planets should align for Wemby, and that’s a troublesome name.
For one, gamers don’t shoot when Victor is within the neighborhood, reducing his block depend. Even Stephen Curry, the best shooter of all time, had second ideas on a number of events. The perfect shooters within the sport have needed to alter their photographs when Wemby is on the courtroom.
Right here’s a thought. When he bought that second triple-double in opposition to the Raptors, what number of passes did Wembanyama make to gamers who then missed the shot?
I went to the play-by-play of that February twelfth sport to see if non-scoring Wemby passes may very well be decided. Sadly, it lists assists on made photographs or missed photographs. There have been some unhealthy passes that resulted in turnovers, however with out rewatching your entire sport (which I’m now searching for), it isn’t conclusive to say had different gamers made their photographs from his passes, then Victor Wembanyama would have earned the elusive feat in his rookie season.
So whereas blocks and rebounds are predominantly on Victor, assists are depending on the opposite guys on the courtroom.
And this season, everybody round Victor ought to enhance, giving him extra alternatives to dish out of the double crew to guys like Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, and Keldon Johnson.
Conserving in thoughts the training curve the Spurs went by means of with Jeremy Sochan as a degree guard and Zach Collins because the beginning middle left the Spurs with a sluggish begin to their season.
I predict this season Victor Wembanyama tallies his first, however not his final, triple-double.
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