Victor Wembanyama’s offseason work is already hinting at the next layer of his offensive game, and the latest footage points straight to a familiar model: Dirk Nowitzki.
A recent clip showed Wembanyama drilling Nowitzki’s trademark fadeaway over Harrison Barnes, a small sample but an eye-catching one. If that move becomes a real part of his package, it could push him closer to the kind of half-court scorer he’s supposed to become.
Victor Wembanyama busting out the "Dirk Fade" in practice 🔥
(Via @spurs) pic.twitter.com/EOVyoaGKn7
- NBABase (@TheNBABase) August 5, 2026
His first postseason run made one thing clear: there’s still work to do when he’s creating for himself. Knicks defenders did a strong job taking away his impact when he was off the ball, limiting the cuts and rolls to the rim that usually come so naturally to him.
That makes this summer a pretty obvious proving ground. Wembanyama needs to sharpen his half-court scoring, and adding a reliable version of Dirk’s signature shot would be a major step in that direction. It would look good on the highlight reel, sure, but more importantly, it would give defenses another problem they can’t solve.
Nowitzki’s fadeaway was never about elegance for its own sake. It worked because he built separation, rose over defenders, and made the contest feel irrelevant.
In Wembanyama’s case, the move could be even more punishing. Dirk was a seven-footer; Victor is taller and has a longer wingspan.
If he can create even a sliver of space after a few bumps, there isn’t much a defender can do once the shot goes up.
That’s the sweet spot for Wembanyama: keeping the shooting touch, but using his size to make it even harder to stop. It’s exactly the kind of blend plenty of his critics want him to find.
There’s also another piece of Dirk’s game that Wembanyama would do well to borrow: patience. On film, Nowitzki never looked rushed on the one-legged fadeaway. He fought to his spot, caught the ball, took a beat, and read the floor before going into his move.
If Wembanyama is studying that tape this summer, patience should be the note circled in red. Slowing the game down was a huge part of Dirk’s edge, and it could matter just as much for Victor as his offense continues to evolve.
The postseason tends to drag the game into the half court, where the best surgical scorers separate themselves. That’s the next frontier for Wembanyama, and the Dirk fadeaway could be one more trick of the trade that makes him even tougher to guard.
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