'We don't forget': The wakeup call that flipped a switch

On Victor Wembanyama's steady ascension, strengthening resolve, and the realization he's a bear not to be poked.

Photo by Reginald Thomas II / SS&E

One of the truest measures of greatness lies in the response to adversity. Sometimes even humiliation. It’s about how a player bounces back from a bomb going off in their lap in high-leverage situations, and whether or not they’re phased by the moment.

We’ve already watched the development of fourth-quarter Victor Wembanyama, and the final-phase takeovers from an alien with no physical earthly peer. But what we’ve seldom witnessed is a challenger who’s not only gone directly at the Spurs’ anchor and succeeded, but who’s also let the big man know about it after the fact.

Enter Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter, whose 27 points off the bench ignited a Hawks’ team that needed every bit of that firepower in a 133-126 overtime loss to San Antonio on Thursday. In the final seconds of regulation, Hunter sprinted down the sideline, took a flip from Larry Nance Jr., and with a full head of steam detonated on the pursuing Wembanyama before standing over his victim and staring him down.

Unfortunately for Hunter, it would be the last two points of his evening. But Victor, despite having already poured in 34 points, still had a final act to direct.

“It for sure helped us get in that mood,” Wembanyama said of Hunter’s showmanship. “We don’t forget.”

The sophomore sensation put on a show in extra time, scoring eight of his 42 points in those final five minutes and adding an emphatic block for good measure — each moment feeling like a bigger back-breaker than the one before it.

First, a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer after a little shoulder fake sent two defenders flying past him; then, a two-handed dunk out of a high pick-and-roll with Chris Paul that required zero dribbles once he caught the ball above the free-throw line; and finally, a trailing bomb from 28 feet that gave the Spurs the lead for good with 1:52 remaining.

“I thought he imposed his will in a positive way (Thursday),” Mitch Johnson said. “You can see it physically, just because of his sheer size, when he's demonstrative and playing with conviction, where he is going to get the ball to the spots that he wants to get to and nothing's going to stop him.”

One could pick from a number of different discussion topics after yet another impressive, composed win. Perhaps you’d choose San Antonio once again closing out a tight game — it’s now outscoring opponents by 18.5 points per 100 “clutch” possessions, good for fourth in the league — or maybe you’d like to lather yourself in the sweet scent of a fully healthy team for the first time all season. But in the afterglow of Victor’s latest masterpiece, it seems like an obligation to point out a slow but steady development.

Yes, he took 15 shots from the perimeter against the Hawks (and made seven of them), but Wembanyama is beginning to take his game closer to the basket with greater consistency. And as Johnson pointed out, when his star his playing decisive basketball and adopting the personality of a bully, there are very few ways to defend the 20-year-old.

Wembanyama has taken 7.9 shots per game from inside the paint through the first three weeks of December (up from 6.4 during the previous month), with his overall number of 2-point attempts jumping from 47.9 percent of his shot diet to 53.5 percent during the same timeframe. But the real rewards are coming from the free-throw line, where teams often have no choice but to send him once he’s made up his mind to get there.

After averaging a measly 2.7 attempts from the stripe in November and finishing the month with a freebie-free effort against the Lakers the day before Thanksgiving, Victor has gotten to the line 6.7 times per game since and has reached double-digit attempts in two of the last three games. It would be the highest volume of free throws for any month of his young career if he’s able to maintain that pace, and to no one’s surprise, the efficiency numbers are beginning to add up because of it.

Wembanyama has posted an elite 62.3 true-shooting percentage (a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account 2-pointers, 3-pointers and free throws) in December, a number that’s on par with the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And he’s been able to do so by methodically adding to his repertoire and boosting an already impressive arsenal.

“I think I'm doing a better job of putting him in spots. I think his teammates are doing a better job of spacing around him. I think he's a little stronger and in better shape,” Johnson said. “I think it's all starting to come together a little bit for him. And the cherry on top is, when he does put the mentality on it, it's tough to stop.”

We’ve seen the evolution over the course of the season, too. Wembanyama began the year struggling to connect on even a quarter of his 3-point attempts, and defenses were giving him those shots until he proved he could make them. Then, once he did just that, he added the pump-and-drive to his game as desperate defenders flew out at him along the perimeter with the hope of at least challenging his nearly 10-foot-high release point.

Along the way, San Antonio began to sprinkle in some quick-hitters off screens at low volume, just to manufacture some looks inside and keep defenses honest. It also reintroduced some of the empty-side two-man game between he and Devin Vassell once the latter returned from offseason foot surgery.

Now, we’re seeing more and more faceup opportunities from elbow to elbow, allowing him to operate from the center of the floor with shooters and cutters all around him. And as his mid-range jumper becomes more and more reliable (42.9 percent in December), it’s going to open both driving and passing lanes even further.

This is all just the beginning of a process that could lead to something completely dominant, too — one that unfolds in a different way with each passing game.

Take for example that roll to the rim in overtime you saw in the GIF above. There is an alternate reality where Wemby decides to pop off the screen for Paul and launch a 3 instead (which he may have made anyway), but what we saw was the result of a lesson learned in real time.

In an almost identical situation earlier in the game, Victor set an angle left screen for Paul as the Hawks jumped the action, with low man Jalen Johnson guarding the basket. But instead of opening up and rolling into that void in the middle of the floor where Paul could hit him with a pocket pass or find him over the top, Wemby popped to the perimeter and was forced to settle for a difficult step-back 3-pointer.

Fast-forward to the overtime period — same setup, different outcome.

“There was a couple of times where he probably wanted a possession back, where he didn't (play with conviction). And as he continues to show those positive possessions, I think the goal will be just to continue to string those together and be more consistent in those areas,” Johnson said. “Sometimes he'll just go to spots where there's space. I think that's where you want a player of his caliber. Any time you get them the ball in a spot in space, you take that, and then the defense has to determine if they're going to play him straight up or put two on the basketball.

“But I thought he did a really good job of being patient and deliberate and making the right decisions (Thursday) … he was tremendous when we needed him to be.”

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Wembanyama, channeling his inner Gregg Popovich, often talks about never skipping steps. About learning how to play in the NBA the right way, and discovering as much about himself as he can before the bolts are tightened on a finished product somewhere down the line. These days, those steps and the strides in between are growing larger and longer, and the building blocks being stacked as a result of the big-picture development are forming the kind of cornerstone capable of supporting a franchise for a long time. The time to learn how to win is now, but make no mistake, this is still about the future.

All the experimentation, the 3-point-shooting barrages, the uncomfortable and sometimes unnatural on-court situations, the ‘why are they doing this’ and ‘why aren’t they doing that’ questions — there’s a reason for every bit of it.

“I'm experiencing levels of freedom that I've never really had the chance to have before. And for me it's also the clearest path into how to get better and how to get to the top level,” Wembanyama said. “So for me, it makes sense that we see creativity on the court, because I think it's actually the best way for me to help my team.

“They're not putting me in a box, and I'm not going to either.”

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