Mitch Johnson didn’t spend much time talking about Victor Wembanyama’s size or shot-blocking after Monday’s practice. He went somewhere more subtle, and maybe more unsettling for the rest of the league: the biggest leap still waiting for Wembanyama is happening in his head.
“Yeah, there's a lot of growth, and I understand his impact now and what he's done. But he can be a much better communicator.
He can recognize things quicker. He can be able to connect his teammates and anticipate things before they happen.
His perimeter defense has a lot of room to grow.”
That list says a lot. Johnson wasn’t pointing to added strength, or foul trouble, or how Wembanyama handles contact on the block.
The areas he named are mostly mental - communication, recognition, connection, anticipation. In other words, the next stage of Wembanyama’s defense isn’t about raw tools.
It’s about processing, and that’s the kind of growth that comes from repetition.
And those are all skills that can be built. Communication takes reps.
Recognition comes from film. Anticipation grows out of seeing the same actions over and over until they start to look familiar before they even happen.
Wembanyama is already putting in the work, and effort has never been the issue.
That’s part of what makes this so wild. Even without those refinements, he’s already done enough to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in a way no one ever has before.
At 22, he became the youngest player in league history to win it, and he did it unanimously. It was the first time one player received all 100 votes for the award.
He also led the NBA in blocks for the third straight season, and he’s only been in the league for three years.
So yes, the physical dominance is real. But Johnson’s point suggests Wembanyama’s defensive story still isn’t finished.
The award didn’t mark a ceiling. It marked the point where the league realized what he can do with just his gifts - and now the scary part is what happens when he layers in more than that.
Patrick Mahomes described a similar kind of late-arriving mastery in 2020 on HBO’s The Shop. He said he “didn't understand how to read defenses until like halfway through last year.”
He was referring to the 2019 season, his second as a full-time starter. By then, he had already thrown for 5,097 yards, won NFL MVP, and lifted a Super Bowl trophy.
Mahomes hadn’t even been a full-time quarterback until his junior year of high school, so the processing was always going to catch up later. The talent came first.
The reading came after.
That’s the part that should make people uneasy. Wembanyama already produced the best defensive season on record by D-RAPM, and the improvements Johnson described don’t just raise his ceiling individually.
They make everyone around him better, too. A more aware Wembanyama doesn’t only erase more possessions.
He upgrades the four other defenders beside him.
In spooky season terms, that’s about as frightening as it gets.
In Other News...
Wembanyamas Opening Night Struggles Have Spurs Fans Debating One Thing
Victor Wembanyamas start to the 2026-27 season has already sparked plenty of conversation in San Antonio, and his first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder only added fuel to it. Through the opening two quarters, he had eight points without making a field goal, while the Spurs were forced to chase the game as the Thunder controlled the flow and carried an 80-70 lead midway through the third quarter.
For Spurs fans, the bigger issue has been less about one rough stretch than what it says about how the offense is functioning around him. The frustration has been obvious, with concern building over both Wembanyamas performance and the teams approach when the game starts to get away from them, and this matchup is already shaping up as an early test of how quickly San Antonio can settle in around its franchise center. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Showed Fight Against OKC But One Debate Just Got Louder
The Spurs had the kind of season opener that can leave a team feeling both encouraged and annoyed. They hung around with Oklahoma City through a game that featured multiple lead changes, physical stretches and a handful of defensive plays worth circling, even if the Thunder ultimately pulled away for a 116-104 win. The return of Jalen Williams gave Oklahoma City another layer, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jared McCain helped steady the visitors when the game tightened.
For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway may be less about the final margin and more about how sharply the matchup sharpened the conversation around Victor Wembanyama. His back-and-forth on the defensive end with Chet Holmgren produced the kind of moments that fuel a rivalry debate, and the altercation involving DeAaron Fox only added to the edge. The Spurs showed they can match intensity, but they also left with one familiar question getting louder after a night when the other side handled the biggest moments better. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Sounds Off After Spurs Let Thunder Set The Tone
The Spurs opened the season with a loss to the Thunder, and Victor Wembanyama did not hide his frustration afterward. San Antonio fell 116-104 in a game that quickly tilted toward Oklahoma City, even as Wembanyama still found ways to make his presence felt with 13 rebounds and six blocks. His shot never came around, though, as he managed just 12 points on 1-of-13 shooting in a start that left plenty of room for the Spurs to clean up.
What stood out most from Wembanyamas postgame assessment was how plainly he pointed to the issues that let the Thunder set the tone. He cited defensive miscommunication and poor closeouts, the kind of lapses that can snowball early in a season when rotations are still being sorted out. For San Antonio, the loss was more than one rough night from its franchise center - it was a reminder that the details have to sharpen up fast if the Spurs want to avoid letting opponents dictate the pace from the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]