Victor Wembanyama’s scoring surge has come with a clear shift in approach, and the Spurs star seems to be doing it on his own terms.
After opening the season with a rough 1-for-13 night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wembanyama has looked like a different player over his last eight games. In that stretch, he’s averaging 29.1 points and has largely stopped forcing the kind of post-up possessions that invited extra defenders and tough shots.
That change has opened up the rest of his game. Wembanyama now leads the NBA with 5.1 dunks per game, and a lot of those finishes have come with help from De’Aaron Fox.
Fox has been especially good at finding him on alley-oops, matching Stephon Castle as the team’s best lob threat. Devin Vassell has also quietly been one of San Antonio’s best at getting Wembanyama the ball.
The Spurs have done a better job of putting him in position to score, and he’s taken advantage by living around the rim even without leaning on the post. His shooting percentage has dipped, but that isn’t because he’s suddenly running more pick-and-roll. The bigger change is shot selection.
Wembanyama has taken more mid-range jumpers than he did last season, but he’s been worse from that area. He’s also been a surprisingly poor mid-range shooter overall, even with the kind of form that makes his shot look effortless.
That mid-range issue goes back to last season, too. Still, the bigger picture is hard to miss: he’s taking more jumpers, more threes, and still getting to the shots that matter most. He’s converting 57.7% of his 15.2 2-point attempts per game, which is the kind of number that makes the rest of the offensive package work.
The case for Wembanyama isn’t that he needs to become a classic back-to-the-basket center. Unless he turns into Nikola Jokic, that’s a tough path for any big man trying to stay efficient. What fits him better is the version we’re seeing now - rolling hard, presenting a lob target, and forcing defenses to make a choice they can’t win.
That approach doesn’t just create dunks. It also opens the floor for everyone else, because help defenders have to leave the corners to stop him at the rim. Add in the mid-range attempts and the six threes per game, and the shot diet starts to make sense.
If the mid-range work improves and the 3-point shot settles in, Wembanyama’s scoring ceiling could climb even higher. For now, the biggest reason for that growth is simple: he’s tuning out the critics who want him to play like a traditional center.
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Spurs Suddenly Have A Devin Vassell Decision That Could Shift Everything
Devin Vassells status has become one of the more important pregame storylines for the Spurs as they get ready to face the Suns. He is listed as questionable with left adductor tightness, and that matters because San Antonio has already been leaning on his scoring and spacing while trying to settle into a rhythm. Vassells recent shooting has also been part of the conversation, making his availability more than just a routine injury note.
If he cannot go, Julian Champagnie is expected to slide into the starting lineup, which would give the Spurs a different look on the wing. That kind of adjustment can ripple through the rotation quickly, especially against a Suns team that will punish any offensive timing issues. For San Antonio, the question is not only whether Vassell can suit up, but how much the lineup changes if he cannot. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Gets A Chance To Silence One Spurs Rivals Confidence
Dillon Brooks has been willing to talk like he has Victor Wembanyama figured out, leaning on the early matchups between the two to make his case. Most of those meetings came when Wembanyama was still in his rookie year or just into his second season, which matters now because the Spurs center is not the same player he was then. He has added strength, sharpened his decisions and put together a strong season that looks a lot more like the version San Antonio expected when it drafted him.
That is what makes the next meeting so interesting from the Spurs side. Brooks may be carrying confidence from what happened before, but those results do not automatically travel with him when Wembanyama is playing with more physicality and a clearer sense of how to control a game. For San Antonio, it is a chance to see whether one of the leagues most outspoken defenders can still bother a player who has already shown he can keep evolving past old scouting reports. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Spurs Showed One Unbeaten Trait Fans Should Notice
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For a team still settling into the season, the bigger takeaway may be how comfortably the Spurs are sharing the load and dictating the pace in the first week. At 2-0, they head into their Tip-Off Tournament matchup with the Memphis Hustle carrying momentum, and a chance to show whether this balanced start is a real early-season trait or just a strong opening stretch. [Read more 🡒]