(The original article was published on May 6 by Mike Monroe, a reporter from The Athletic. The content of the article does not represent the translator's views.)
SAN ANTONIO - When Wenbanyama came to Alamo City for the first time, the reaction of Hall of Fame coach Popovich was the same as that of others. The Spurs signed the French teenager with the No. 1 player in the draft in 2023.
Popovich watched for hours the video of Venbanyama's game in France, and the friendly game in Las Vegas in October 2022. In this game, Venbanyama and Skut Henderson both played, and the latter was selected by the pioneers with a feeler tag at the draft convention.
However, Popovich also noticed what challenges Wenbanyama will face after coming to the NBA. He did not place any high hopes on this rookie, but when the season ended, Popovich also admitted that even if the outside world publicized Wenbanyama as a big man in the "new era", this statement is not too much. The Spurs' coaching team realized that one of the factors that made Wenbanyama truly outstanding was that the rookie was willing to accept the guidance of Popovich and other assistants.
"He has become more plastic and more receptive, which has expanded his role on the court and his game, both offensive and defensive," Popovich said in the season summary before Wenbanyama was named the best rookie of the season on Tuesday. "You can ask him if he wants to lead the shot blocking list before the season starts. But this is also a requirement for him. We want him to stay in the basket and ask him to grab rebounds and block opponents."
"He likes to shoot three points, so I wouldn't expect him to do so at the beginning. But he is a competitor and he wants to win. He is really talented, but I need to let him know those talents that he doesn't know. Expanding his game is our top priority."
Popovich usually doesn't compare players. He thinks it is stupid. But when assessing the performance of Vinbiama this season, Popovich made an exception.
Popovich said: "He has Duncan's inborn basketball IQ and the passion to become the best player."
For the San Antonio Spurs' players, nothing can get more praise from the coach than making a positive comparison with the greatest player in the team's history, two regular season MVPs, three FMVPs, and South Texas idols.
On and off the court, Wenbanyama and Duncan have a lot in common. Duncan once said that he is the most capped player in NBA history. Among the 254 blocked shots of Wenbanyama this season, there are countless "standing shots", because he doesn't need his feet off the ground to cap the opponent's shot.
Both of them have a subtle sense of humor. Facts have proved that Popovich will respond when the coach laughs at them. Popovich said: "I like people with a sense of humor, but when I am half humorous and half confused, they will respond to me, so they don't know what I am thinking. It's fun to be with him (Wenbanyama), he is very smart and curious about everything“
If you ask the Spurs' boss R C Buford, when did he first meet Wenbanyama? He can give an immediate answer.
"May 4, 2019." Buford blurted out that that year was the seventh time that he went abroad to study players in his 34 years with the Spurs. "At that time, Wenbanyama was only 15 years old, and there was no one in the stadium somewhere in France (not in Paris)."
After receiving a phone call from Claudio Crippa, the Spurs' international scout, Buford boarded the plane to Paris, and then drove to see Vinbiama play in the French League One Nantel 92 team. Apart from the staff of the two teams, only Krippa and Buford were present.
At that time, Wenban Yama was thinner than now. After his slow start to the season, Wenbanyama played one of the most impressive performances of the rookie season since David Robinson in 1989-90, Duncan in 1997-98 and Griffin in 2010-11.
The Spurs' history rookie ranked the top three in terms of individual shot blocking in the season
Even though Wenbanyama was only 15 years old at that time, what he did in that game was something Buford had never seen before. Buford has great foresight and was twice named the league's top executive of the year.
In a recent interview, Buford recalled: "His technology was ridiculous." Even five years later, these images still clearly came to his mind. "I mean, he is only 15 years old, but his game style is different from the traditional 15 year old players of the same height. At that time, he had already shot outside. He can grab the rebounds and transfer the ball on the court. I have never seen such a player before."
As one of the pioneer teams signing international players, this is a major assertion. Please remember that in 1992, Buford was the only NBA scout who had seen 15 year old Ginobili play in South America. At that time, he remembered Ginobili, and then went to the draft conference that year. Rod Thorne, the then NBA president, announced that "in the 1999 NBA draft conference, the Spurs selected Ginobili from Argentina in the 57th place."
In August last year, Ginobili was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
In the case of keeping healthy, the outbreak of Wenbanyama seems inevitable.
Buford believes that Wenbanyama has not been over publicized, and few people see an invisible point: Wenbanyama is not only an excellent player, but also a good teammate.
"It is difficult for anyone to meet the expectations of the league and fans. Every game, we will see something that we have never seen before. During the period of playing, coaching and serving as the management, I have watched 50 years of basketball games, but every game, I can see something I have never seen from Wenbanyama. He spent a lot of time in improving himself and supporting his teammates. "
Perhaps there is only one person who thinks that Wenbanyama has exceeded everyone's expectations. That person is Wenbanyama himself.
"I didn't feel that I had exceeded my expectations," said Wenbanyama. In his first season, his performance exceeded even the most optimistic predictions of the outside world. "Maybe I did play that kind of performance, but I didn't feel that way because I tried to do more every day to achieve more achievements, records and victories. Then the next day, I always told myself that I was not good enough and told myself to work harder. So my first feeling about myself is that I haven't exceeded anyone's expectations, and I still need to do more. "
Do more?
What Wenbanyama did in the rookie season is listed as long as the baseline on both sides of the court. Here are some of the most influential achievements:
Wenbanyama is the first player in NBA history to score 1500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and hit 100 3-pointers at the same time.
In the game against the Knicks on March 30, Wenbanyama got 40 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the first rookie with 40+20 in a single game since the 1992-93 season of Shaquille O'Neal, and the youngest player with 40+20 in the history of the league.
In the 105-110 defeat to Denver on April 3, Wenbanyama got 23 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists and 9 blocks, almost ranking among the "four double players" of Nate Thurmond, David Robinson, Alvin Robertson and Olajuwon.
He blocked shots 254 times this season, the most in the league. This is the second rookie with the most blocked shots in a single season since the league began to count the blocked shots in the 1973-74 season. The last one was Manut Bohr, who blocked 397 shots in the 1985-86 season.
This season, Wenbanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks. He became the fourth rookie in history who averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. Except him, the other three people were included in the Hall of Fame - David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Alonzo Monin. If you add his average assists (3.9), this season in the history of the NBA only appeared twice, both created by Abdul Jabbar.
Wenbanyama has been selected as the final candidate for two personal awards this season: Best Rookie and Best Defensive Player.
In the anonymous vote of NBA players this season initiated by The Athletic, players believed that he was the best defensive player in the league.
The data can only show some of Wenbanyama's talents. You need to see them with your own eyes to believe them:
In the game against the Bucks on January 5, Wenbanyama threw and buckled himself. After the last round of Brother Alphabet's dunk, he broke through from the three-point line, then threw the ball to the backboard and threw his own hand. Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller, commentators of TNT, lost their minds at that time, but Wenbanyama just shrugged.
On March 1, in the Spurs' 132-118 victory over Oklahoma City at home, Wenbanyama took off the hat from Homgren. Wen Ban played the fourth quarter, defeated the first in the western region in a symbolic way, and took off the hat of Homgren's 18 foot jump shot, enhancing his dominance in the competition with Homgren. It's up to you to decide whether the ball is blocked or tackled.
Finally, on April 10, in the Federal Express Forum Stadium, Wenbanyama faced the Grizzlies' quick attack of three against one. After Brandon Clark stole, Trey Jamison and Jordan Goodwin rushed forward. Wenbanyama was the only defender of the Spurs on that side, standing there with his arms outstretched.
When Clark ran the ball past half court, he passed the ball to Jamison beside him. Jamison glanced at Wenbanyama, and then passed the ball to Goodwin in the bottom corner. This is a typical example of the Wenban effect - opponents choose to pass because they are afraid of being blocked by him. In the end, Goodwin bypassed Wenban at the bottom line and completed the layup. Maybe one day, he will tell his grandchildren this story.
At the early stage of his career, Wen Ban had accumulated a lot of experience in fast attack, one defense and three defense. At the age of 7, he was the goalkeeper of a youth football team in Paris. In the San Antonio Spurs' losing streak at the beginning of the season, Wenbanyama was asked whether he had experienced similar losing streak.
"The time I lost the most probably was when I played football. Our strength was not outstanding at that time. When you had to defend 1 and 3 all day, it was very difficult. It was not my fault." said Wenbanyama.
Anyone who has seen Wenbanyama in or near San Antonio thinks he is generous, charming, and always polite and thoughtful. This is as important as his height and skill. The Spurs now plan to return to the playoffs and eventually become the champion.
"It's more important to learn how to behave than to play," Buford insisted. "I say so, it is not that those who play well don't respect him, but although he is a great player, he also needs to have good relations with his teammates and the community. His quality of showing to those who suffer from misfortune in the community is greater than his support to his teammates as a player."
"As a player, he is unique. More importantly, now he has turned from 19 to 20."
There are many examples to prove that Buford appreciates the quality of Wenbanyama. Just recently, there was an example that explained everything.
Devont Graham, 29, is the oldest player in the Spurs. He has played five seasons in the NBA and is a locker room leader. Popovich praised him for helping his teammates stay optimistic, which is what he has the right to do in this team that has lost 60 games.
In the first 74 games of this season, Graham played only 113 minutes of 16 games. However, when Wasserl, Kelden Johnson, Sohan, Osman and Dominic Barlow appeared on the injury list at the beginning of April, Graham's playing time became more. The Spurs won 7 and lost 4 in the last 11 games of the season, Graham made significant contributions during this period.
In the game against Pelican, he hit four three-point shots, which was an important factor for the team to win away. In the penultimate game of this season, he hit a 10 foot throw with 0.9 seconds left in the game, helping the Spurs defeat Denver in 121-120, and driving the defending champion to the No. 1 position in the West.
After the dramatic victory, Graham said in the press conference after the game that how wonderful it was to hit the goal. Wenbanyama walked in a door on the left, didn't even call, and threw the ball to Graham.
Graham couldn't help laughing. Suddenly, a long season of losing one game after another on the bench almost became as happy as the second season of his career in the Hornets. That year, he scored 18.2 points in 63 starts, ranking fifth among the fastest improving players.
The game ball seemed destined to be put in a special place in Graham's home to spend "the rest of its life".
Two weeks before the victory over Denver, the Spurs defeated the Knicks in 130-126 overtime. When the final whistle sounded, Wenbanyama picked up the game ball and threw it to the stands. This move was fined $25000 by the league, and the Knicks also asked to find the ball quickly, so that it could be handed to Brunson, who scored a career high 61 points.
A student of St. Mary's High School grabbed the ball thrown by Wenbanyama. A staff member of the Spurs was sent to get the ball back and promised to give the fan a ticket for another game, which was the home victory of the Spurs over Denver. Wenbanyama realized what the final result would be when he threw the ball into the stands. He signed another ball and gave it to the St. Mary's High School fan. In capital letters, he wrote on the ball: Sorry, you didn't keep that ball. I hope this ball can stay in your hands (SORRY YOU COULDN 'T KEEP THE OTHER BALL. HOPE THIS WORKS TOO).
For Wenbanyama, there were also frustrations along the way. He doesn't want to tolerate the team losing 60 games. He can't stand the appearance restrictions given to him by Popovich and the team doctor in the first half of the season. He is unlikely to win the best defensive player, although no one steals and blocks more than him in total (342 times). Even his friend Gobel has only 214 in this regard.
Wenbanyama will not have too much rest time. He will become one of the main focuses of France at the Paris Olympic Games this summer. People will expect more from him, but in his first NBA season, he has been very satisfied with himself.
Now, Wenbanyama just wants to win.
Original text: Mike Monroe
Compiled by: JayChan
