In an effort to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible, Victor Wembanyama has been encouraged to make one change to his game.
Victor Wembanyama is the most dominant three-level scorer the NBA has ever seen. He doesn't have Stephen Curry's 3-point shot, LeBron James' downhill scoring, or Shaquille O'Neal's paint dominance, but he's the closest the NBA has ever seen to combining all three players.
Of course, combining all of that offensive prowess takes a physical toll. Wembanyama isn't exactly "injury-prone," but he isn't exceedingly durable, either. He's played in 71, 46, and 64 games in each of his three seasons. Of course, his sophomore season was cut short by blood clots, not injury, and thanks to the NBA Cup, he did technically hit the 65-game threshold last year. Still, he's not expected to make playing in 70 games the norm.
With one adjustment to his offensive game, that could change, and the Spurs would be better off because of it.
Victor Wembanyama Has to Master the Midrange
The midrange is nearly an extinct shot in the NBA. Guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki built all-time careers for themselves by shooting from around 18 feet away from the hoop. Had they mastered the 3-point shot as Kevin Durant did, they would have been even deadlier on offense.
Wembanyama, like most modern players, prefers to shoot either from behind the arc or right at the rim. For the most part, the midrange has been dubbed needlessly inefficient. It's almost as hard as a 3-point shot, and 33.3 percent less valuable.
For Wembanyama, though, taking more "in-between" shots could keep him on the court for longer.
"He needs to develop in a way that allows his body to adapt over time to being less resilient and therefore making the game more efficient," said The Athletic's Jared Weiss. "And just the way that he moves the floor, having that turnaround jumper, no matter where he is, should be a thing for him. He can take a shot from within 15 feet without leaving his feet that he can just take a free throw from anywhere that he wants. He just needs to figure out how to get to that."
Standing at 7-4 and with an 11-foot release point, even the closest defenders can't stop him from getting off a jump shot from wherever he wants. Last season, he shot 34.9 percent from 3-point range and 67.1 percent at the rim. That's 1.04 and 1.34 points per attempt, respectively.
His midrange, meanwhile, sits at 37.8 percent over his career. That's only 0.75 points per attempt, well below where the Spurs would want it to sit. Granted, a lot of those were off-balance or from the baseline. If he scattered his shot chart a bit more and lined up his shot intentionally, then that percentage should go up.
In an effort to preserve his body and get as close to 82 games played as possible, fans have to accept that his efficiency and shot diet might not be where they want it to be. It's worth it.
