Did the Wolves solve Victor Wembanyama?
No.
The first time David Thorpe and I saw Victor Wembanyama play was five years ago, on live video, in the pandemic. The video is pretty famous.
Victor is 16, and playing against his mentor Rudy Gobert. Honestly, the whole thing is kind of hard to understand: somehow France has produced two of the tallest men of all time, and they can both move like guards? I guess the idea at that time was to project what Victor might become, but that seemed so silly. Either something hard to predict would take him off course—this stuff happens—or … he’d be the best player ever?
On Monday, the Francogiants matched up against each other as full-blown NBA adults who have combined to win five of the last nine Defensive Player of the Year awards. The result was a surprise. Playing on the road, as underdogs, well shy of full health (with Anthony Edwards playing off the bench and Ayo Dosonmu in street clothes on it) the Wolves won.
How?
A glance at the box score would reveal many oddities. Mike Conley on fire! Naz Reid doing damage! But what stands out the most is that Wembanyama, who averages 23 points with eight buckets and two 3s, instead finishing with only 11 points, having missed all eight of his 3s, while making just five of his 17 shots.
My son’s home from college. Early in the game he asked me who’s the best at guarding Victor. Uhh … I had no great insight.
By the final buzzer, with the Wolves victorious, I thought of the video from five years ago. Did Gobert … know something? Does this bode well for the Wolves moving forward?
To get a sense what stopped Wembanyama in Game 1, I watched every one of his attempts and made this dead-simple chart.
