Yahoo Sports’ Dan Devine and Jake Fischer gleaned a lot about Victor Wembanyama in the Spurs loss to the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. There’s still a lot more to learn about the rookie phenom, but he’s showing everyone what he’s made of as he grows into NBA superstardom. Hear the full conversation on “No Cap Room” – part of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen
Video Transcript
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JAKE FISCHER: The main takeaway really wasn’t anything about like the basketball, it was how he handles the spotlight. Which has kind of been my thing all along. I’ve been more high on him from what’s going on between the years than what he has physically and a talent standpoint. Because, like, we’ve seen certain folks, Mitchell Robinson said– basically said, this dude is, this KP from France, like, I think I can handle him, and he did.
To be fair to Mitchell Robinson, he gave him that D-train– shout out Fred Katz– but I think it’s different in that Victor Wembanyama has been highlighted and lauded, to use the exact word Greg Popovich used last night, for his entire adolescent existence. And I think it continues to be impressive how he handles all of the eyeballs. I mean, the league is thrusting this dude onto every single billboard, metaphorically, and figuratively, and literally.
Victor, last night, though, I saw the first crack of his composure. And even like that, he still like brought it back in. So like if a superhero’s suit got like cut, but then it like fused itself back together. It was a really poor showing, similar to his opening display where he started slow and had the flurry in the fourth.
He didn’t exactly have the flurry in the fourth, but like– and he said at postgame, and he was glugging a protein shake in between his answers. Which I was like, man, I’ve never seen someone so skinny drinking so much protein. It’s just so early. And I’m just– I’m taken by how he is accepting that he is this living, breathing experiment that the Spurs are figuring out different tinctures and equations. And don’t even know where to put him on the court yet.
And that was– I talked to a bunch of people at the coaching staff like to see the oh, holy– to keep saying the word holy Spurs mafia, that have won five championships, openly admitting that there’s this puzzle in front of them that they’re really excited to be working with, but they just don’t know what to do with these pieces, was interesting to see. And I am now like more entertained, I guess, and engaged at like watching the arc of his kind of career and life.
