I’ll admit that there’s something incongruous about Victor Wembanyama firing away from deep. Everyone in the NBA shoots 3s now, but it still touches a primitive basketball nerve when a man who can practically dunk without jumping settles for a 28-footer. Of course there were grumbles when Wemby stumbled out of the gate this season, launching 3s at a nearly unprecedented volume while making them at just a 23 percent clip in his first nine games.
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But I’ll also admit that there’s something incongruous about everything Wembanyama does. The old rules of the game no longer apply—that’s true for the league writ large as it pertains to 3s, and it’s true for the laws of physics as they pertain to the alien. Wembanyama’s simple basketball maneuvers are revelatory, and watching his best plays is like traveling through a wormhole into basketball’s future.
We may have gotten a glimpse of that future on Wednesday night, when Wembanyama dropped his first career 50-piece in a 139-130 win over the Washington Wizards. Perhaps because it was a matchup against his former Metropolitans 92 teammate Bilal Coulibaly and fellow Frenchman Alex Sarr (or perhaps not), Wemby hunted his shot more aggressively than I’ve ever seen. He launched five 3s in just five and a half first-quarter minutes. Those opened the pump-and-drive game. The pump-and-drive game, in turn, generated even more 3s. Wemby finished the contest with eight made 3s on 16 attempts; it was his third straight game with at least six made deep balls and the most 3-point attempts in a game in his career.
Wembanyama’s three-game heater brings his season-long 3-point percentage to a respectable 34 percent, a tick up from his mark last year. What’s more notable is the increase in volume. Even before he launched 16 3s on Wednesday, 47 percent of Wemby’s field goal attempts this year had come from downtown, up from 33 percent during his rookie season. Even as 3s proliferate through the NBA, Wembanyama is averaging more per game than any other center—he’s shooting nearly three 3s per game more than the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, a prototypical modern stretch 5, who scored 46 points and hit six 3s of his own in a loss to the Bulls on Wednesday night.
It’s much more palatable when they go in, of course, but is it good that Wembanyama is firing from deep with such reckless abandon? Throughout his early-season shooting slump, the Spurs—and Wemby himself—insisted that it is. Gregg Popovich, who has missed the past few games while recovering from a mild stroke, previously said that he “absolutely” wants Wembanyama shooting this many 3s. It’s all part of the Spurs’ plan. “He’s more of a perimeter player than he is a post player,” Popovich said. “We want him to be able to do everything. … We just can’t do it all at once.”
San Antonio is clearly taking a long-term approach to Wembanyama’s development, but Wednesday night provided a pretty immediate proof of concept. It was striking how the rest of Wembanyama’s repertoire slotted into place behind his pillowy 3-pointer. He scored over, around, and then through Washington’s (admittedly porous) defense, in precisely the ways the opponent’s game plan allowed. When the Wizards dropped their center against the pick-and-roll, Wembanyama lined up his jumpers without hesitation.
The threat of the long ball led to fruitful drives.
And when he had Sarr on an island, his attacks were decisive and forceful.
Even against Jonas Valanciunas, who gave him something of a schoolyard drubbing on the other end, Wembanyama used his quickness and shooting range to keep the Spurs out in front.
There is a sound logic to letting Wemby get his reps from outside. Just 20 years old, he still doesn’t have the strength to bully his way to the rim, and defenses are intent on pushing him toward the perimeter. Knocking down 3s—rather than forcing the issue inside—is the surest way to get easy buckets and open up the rest of his approach. And in the long term, the deep ball simply has to be part of Wemby’s game, which makes his relatively low-stakes second season the perfect time to let it rip.
His uptick also coincides with a broader leaguewide push for ever more 3s. Following the Celtics’ example, NBA teams are seeking to squeeze every drop of 3-point juice they can, encouraging players to stretch their games and tap into any below-the-surface 3-point potential. Wembanyama is just one of many—especially among the younger cohort—exploring the studio space beyond the arc.
All of which is to say, this likely won’t be the last 3-point outburst of Wembanyama’s sophomore season. When he’s on, the basketball rolls off his fingers like a blown kiss. He has that Steph Curry–ian ability to heat up and blow the top off a game—something Spurs fans will grow only more accustomed to seeing. But by the same token, Wemby’s shooting struggles earlier this season likely won’t be his last, either. His first 12 outings reflect the boom-and-bust nature of his game at this point in his career. When his outside shot is falling, there’s quite literally nothing the defense can do. When it isn’t, there’s not all that much Wemby can do.
Wembanyama’s progression during his rookie season was a blur. He debuted as a talented but gangly power forward, and he finished by challenging Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year (and then usurping him on Team France). If Wemby can make similar strides on offense this season, he will crash the All-NBA conversation sooner rather than later—especially if the 6-6 Spurs can hang around in the playoff race.
But that all depends on the fickle 3-pointer. That’s just the nature of the NBA and Victor Wembanyama in 2024. One way or another, you’re going to see something new.
