Victor Wembanyama has already done enough to put the San Antonio Spurs back in the NBA Finals picture, but the next step may be the one that turns him from a force into a problem nobody can solve.
The Spurs star is coming off a huge 2025-26 season, one that ended with San Antonio’s first Finals appearance in more than a decade. Even with that kind of breakthrough behind him, the sense around Wembanyama is that he still has room to level up on both ends.
Defense has already become his calling card. He was the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, and even with that honor in hand, he still has not reached his peak on that side of the floor.
The bigger question, though, is offense. He averaged 25 points per game last season, but his scoring still comes in waves, and that remains the clearest area for growth.
That’s why the offseason work matters. Wembanyama was rumored to have added a hook shot to his arsenal before the season even ended, though he has not shown it yet.
He has also spent part of the offseason training with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. He worked with Olajuwon some last summer, too, and came away with improved post footwork, even if he was still far from a finished product down low.
The bigger trend is familiar: each offseason, he seems to return stronger. This summer’s added muscle should help him absorb the kind of physical treatment teams will keep throwing at him. It should also let him answer back more forcefully when he gets to the paint.
The Finals may have driven that lesson home. In Game 4, when the Spurs collapsed, they needed Wembanyama to create late offense and stop the slide, and he couldn’t do it. If he had, the series might have gone a different way.
That’s the painful edge of where he is right now. Even entering his fourth season, he still doesn’t have a fully defined offensive package. He can score in a lot of ways, but he still hasn’t consistently chosen the right spots.
The numbers do point to a player with real versatility. He is an elite catch-and-shoot stretch five.
He has also been surprisingly effective as a pick-and-roll ball handler and as a scorer attacking the basket on drives. That creates a tricky balance for the Spurs: they don’t want him turned into a 7'5" wing, but they also can’t box him into the post.
There’s a middle ground there, and if he finds it, the ceiling gets scary. One view is that he could eventually average around 30 points per game. That sounds ambitious, but the production is already close enough to make the idea feel less outlandish than it once did.
Even while still working through the offensive side of his game, Wembanyama ranked 17th in the NBA in scoring on a blistering 62.6% true shooting. For a player who is still just scratching the surface offensively, that’s already elite territory.
If the offseason work translates, the rest of the league may be staring at an even more complete version of an already overwhelming star.
In Other News...
Victor Wembanyama Is Fueling Bigger Belief Around The Spurs Future
Victor Wembanyama is heading into his fourth NBA season with the Spurs, and the belief around San Antonio keeps growing with him. After leading the team to the NBA Finals last season, he has already changed the way the franchise is talked about, not just for what he does on the floor but for the standard he seems to set every day.
His impact reaches beyond the Spurs, too. Wembanyama has been part of Frances international program, including the 2024 Olympics, and is now in the mix for the 2027 FIBA Mens World Cup qualifiers alongside teammate Evan Fournier. Fournier has been open about how much Wembanyamas presence means, and it is another reminder that the Spurs centerpiece is shaping more than one locker room as his rise continues. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Preseason Opener Could Settle Two Heated Rotation Debates
The Spurs are heading into preseason with more than just a tune-up in mind. The Oct. 8 opener against the Atlanta Hawks should give the first real hint of how coach Mitch Johnson wants to sort through a roster with several moving parts, and the early lineup choices will be watched closely after a summer spent reshaping the teams identity.
What makes this first look especially interesting is that San Antonio still has two spots that feel genuinely unsettled. One centers on the lead guard role, where the team has options with different styles, and another sits at power forward, where the mix of youth and veteran presence could push the rotation in different directions. Preseason games do not settle everything, but this one could reveal which way Johnson is leaning before the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Have A Tough Backcourt Decision They Cant Avoid
San Antonios guard rotation suddenly has a lot more weight on it than it did a year ago. With DeAaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper all in the mix, the Spurs are facing the kind of backcourt squeeze that can shape not just the starting lineup, but the way the whole roster is built around Victor Wembanyama. Fox remains an important piece because of his contract and what he can still bring when he is right, while Castles development and Harpers strong rookie season have only tightened the competition for minutes.
The tension is obvious: the Spurs still have faith in Fox, but they also have to decide what matters most, patience or production. If Fox does not come back quickly from the postseason and Finals struggles that raised real questions, the pressure will only grow to lean harder into Harpers rise and let him take on a bigger role. For a team trying to win sooner rather than later, this is not a depth-chart debate they can simply wait out. [Read more 🡒]