Victor Wembanyama worked out with former NBA player Jamal Crawford this past offseason and the latter has now shared some insight on those sessions. Crawford appeared on the latest episode of the Ringer’s NBA Show where he spoke on how the sessions came about and what he taught Wembanyama.
“He reached out and his team reached out to train him,” Crawford said. “I’m like, ‘What’s he trying to get better at?’ Like his handle and his footwork and I’m like, ‘Oh well, right up my wheelhouse.’ But let me just reach out to (Gregg Popovich) to make sure the stuff that he’s working on will go with the Spurs.”
Crawford and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had a great conversation during which the latter explained what he believes is the next step in Wembanyama’s evolution. Once Crawford got the go-ahead from Popovich, he got to work.
“I made a routine, a workout just for both of those worlds to meet,” Crawford stated. “Wemby works on his footwork and his hands but it’s also in the spaces and how they (Spurs) do it and how they would get to him.
“For example, one thing was, at the time, Wemby had a tendency,” Crawford continued. “When he set the pick-and-roll and he rolled, he would just stay down there. Pop was like, ‘No, I want him to start hunting shots a little more. I want him to roll and come back and catch at that free throw line area where Dirk (Nowitzki) would catch it.’ So, then I start putting plans together like that and it was things of that nature.
“It’s funny, I saw some people (say), ‘What’s he doing with Crawford? Crawford’s a guard, he handles.’ And it was funny because one of the main things, the thing we did most was footwork,” Crawford added. “And what I was showing him was footwork works everywhere.
“Whether you’re at the top of the key, whether at the mid-post or at the post, the footwork transfers in all three areas,” Crawford said. “And that was our huge focus for that week. We worked out twice a day, we worked for just short of a week and it was incredible because stuff it took me years to learn, he could do it and download it in five minutes.”
It once again speaks to Wembanyama’s greatness that he was able to pick things up as quickly as he did. Crawford had spoken glowingly of the Frenchman in the past and he now holds him in even higher regard. These two appear to have linked up in June and Wembanyama had shared some pictures from their workouts.
Interestingly enough, these sessions weren’t the first time that Crawford showed the ropes to Wembanyama. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year taught Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly the “shake-and-bake” ahead of the 2024 Rising Stars Challenge.
Perhaps it was this brief lesson that led to Wembanyama and his camp deciding to have more extensive sessions with Crawford. Working out with one of the greatest ball handlers in NBA history certainly appears to have benefitted him.
Wembanyama is averaging 25.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.9 blocks per game in 2024-25. The 21-year-old has led the Spurs to a respectable 18-17 record and they might end their playoff drought this time around.
Making it to the postseason would be Wembanyama’s goal as well but his immediate focus would be on the Spurs’ next game against the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Monday at 8 PM ET.
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