Victor Wembanyama played in two games in the NBA Summer League, stinking it up in the first one before showing what the hype is all about in the second.
Wembanyama is a unicorn as a prospect, he is 7’5 and has elite skill on the basketball court. But the main concern with him is about his health. And an NBA insider says the San Antonio Spurs could start managing his minutes as early as his rookie season.
“He is only 19, and he needs developmental work for translation to the NBA. I would expect both load management and competition management. Spoon-feed him a cautious diet of challenges early in his career.”
A western conference scout expects the Spurs to load manage Victor Wembanyama
“He is only 19, and he needs developmental work for translation to the NBA. I would expect both load management and competition management. Spoon-feed him a cautious diet of challenges early in his… pic.twitter.com/VudiNf7D2n
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 15, 2023
Victor Wembanyama does have to worry about staying healthy considering his frame. He’s already very tall, and an NBA season is both rigorous and physically demanding. The French phenom will want to make a splash as a rookie, but load management might put a bit of a damper on that.
Basketball fans aren’t fond of load management, and while it is a reality of the game today, they universally want to see less of it. The league has taken measures to try and reduce it, like introducing a 65-game minimum for individual award eligibility. If the Spurs are too cautious with Wembanyama, it might cost him the Rookie Of The Year award.
Victor Wembanyama Has Massive Expectations From His Rookie Season
It logically makes sense that the Spurs want to keep Wembanyama as healthy and fresh as they can to start his NBA career. But this might put them at loggerheads with their generational No. 1 pick, who has big expectations from himself. He wants to be better than every other No. 1 overall pick before him, which might not be possible if they manage his minutes too much.
“I’ve been looking into all the data of the past years, the past number one picks, and what impact they’ve had. I’m trying to be better than every guy before me.”
Gregg Popovich and the Spurs surely have a plan in place to allow Wembanyama to reach his maximum potential. The Spurs are often credited with being the team that started load management. But if he doesn’t want to hear the slander about being a disappointment, Wemby needs to ensure that they play him as much as possible.
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