Victor Wembanyama, the top unicorn that NBA fans have been waiting for for a long time, has finally joined. He was selected by the Spurs with the first pick in the first round in 2023. Many people are very curious about Wembanyama, including height, wingspan, talent, future template, Family background, international competition, etc., here are 10 things to know about Vincent’s zebra.
Further reading:The ultimate unicorn zebra! Victor Wembanyama regular season scoring record/data/peak moments
Table of Contents
Coming from a sports family creates terrifying talent
Victor Wembanyama's talent and unusual physique come from a family of athletes. His father, Felix, is a 1.98-meter-tall Congolese track and field athlete, specializing in high jump and long jump; his mother is a 1.91-cm-tall professional player who also played for the French national team.
Sister Eve is also a professional basketball player and won the gold medal at the 2017 French FIBA U16 Women's Basketball Championship. She currently plays for Monaco Basketball Club in Ligue 1.
NBA top height and wingspan
Wembanyama has shown extraordinary physical talent since he was a child. Compared with players of the same age, he has always been the tallest and the one with the longest arms. At only 9 years old, Victor Wembanyama is already 5 feet 11 inches tall.
The 19-year-old Wembanyama is 7 feet 4 inches tall (approximately 224 cm) and has an 8-foot wingspan (approximately 244 cm). How exaggerated are these numbers? Boban Marjanović, the tallest "giant soldier" in the current NBA, is also 224 centimeters, and his 8-foot wingspan is one of the longest in NBA history. He has an amazing physical talent that can dunk with almost no need to take off. And Wembanyama is only 19 years old, so he will have a good chance to continue to grow taller in the next few years.
Defender-like skill set
What's even more frightening is that Wembanyama also has exquisite basketball skills. According to past experience, the coordination, sensitivity and shooting of tall people will be insufficient, but Wembanyama completely broke this law. He has the speed and shooting touch of a top guard, and can also make smooth dribbling and singles actions like a guard. It's like a combined version of Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis with taller height and longer arms.
After Wembanyama enters the profession, the first issues will be confrontation and shooting stability. How his slim body can support fighting in the paint, and whether he can develop shooting above the standard will be the key to the future.
future template
Wembanyama has been described as the most difficult talent in history to evaluate and set a template for, drafting the template he has ever had:
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"Clutchpoint": 7-foot-4 Kevin Durant
"Bleacher Report": Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
"Bleacher Report" dismantled and compared Wembanyama's various techniques:
Half-court dribbling and dribbling: Kevin Durant
Blocking Mobility: David Robinson
Defensive coverage: Anthony Davis
Side and back steps: Jayson Tatum
Inside finishing ability: Kristaps Porziņģis
Solo dribbling in transition: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Passing: Devin Booker
Started playing professional league at the age of 15
Wembanyama started playing in the youth team at the age of 10 and became an official professional player for the Ligue 1 club Nanterre 92 in the 2019-20 season. In the 2020-21 season, he was selected as the "Best Young Player" award in the French top league LNB Pro A. In the 2022-23 season, Wembanyama joined the Metropolitans 92 club in Ligue 1 and won the Most Valuable Player of the First Division.
France international future ace
Wembanyama also performed very well in international competitions. In 2019, he helped France win the silver medal in the U16 European Championships and was also selected as the best five.
In 2021, he led the French team to win the U19 World Cup silver medal. During the event, he averaged 14 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game, setting a new record for the highest average blocks per game in the history of the U19 World Cup. He was also selected as the best five players.
NBA stars also praise touted talent
Victor Wembanyama's popularity originated from the video of his duel with Rudy Gobert. He is bigger and more agile than the 7-foot-1 NBA hot pot king.
After Wembanyama began to emerge in professional leagues and international competitions, many NBA players went to watch his clips. LeBron James even went to the scene in person and gave the following comment, "Rather than saying he looks like a unicorn, I think he is more like a unicorn." Aliens." Stephen Curry even called it unscientific, "He is like a player in the "NBA 2K" series made with plug-ins."
Intsagram by Victor Wembanyama
Become the Spurs' No. 1 pick in 2023
In 2023, he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first pick in the first round without any suspense, becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
The Spurs also look forward to Victor Wembanyama becoming the top long-man successor after David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
Especially love reading and writing
Wembanyama loved reading since childhood and was quite talented in French literature. He once wrote a literary story "Alice and Jules" that was praised by his teacher.
"I like reading novels. Reading helps me stop thinking about anything during the day and gives me a sense of isolation. If I am attracted by a book, it can help me fly to another dimension." Wembanyama likes "Power" "The Game", "Star Wars", "Assassins: Royal Assassins", "Dragons" and "Lord of the Rings" and other epic novels.
