Drafting Wemby Would Benefit Pop’s Legacy
San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich has been at the helm of the club since 1996. Since then, the 74-year-old has won five NBA championships, three Coach of the Year awards, and an Olympic gold medal as the head coach of the US men’s basketball team.
He’s also won more regular season games than any other coach in the NBA.
Under his watch, the Spurs saw players like David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard grow to become championship winners.
Now it appears as though Victor Wembanyama will become the newest star prospect to enter the NBA under “Pop’s” guidance.
Pop-Wemby: The New NBA Super Duo
Even though we’re still a month away from the 2023 NBA Draft, many are already calling the Popovich-Wembanyama tandem the new super duo in the NBA. Over the years Pop has helped both Duncan and Robinson flourish in the front court, establishing themselves as perennial All-Star candidates.
By winning the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, the Spurs’ fate changed dramatically after finishing the 2022-2023 regular season at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 22-60 record.
Wembanyama, has been playing professional basketball in France’s LNB Pro A, averaging 21.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks in 33 games during the 2022-2023 season. As a member of the French national team who played three qualifying games for the World Cup, Wemby put up 20.3 points, ten rebounds, and 2.7 blocks. During the qualifying tournament, the 19-year-old Frenchman posted a 25 player efficiency rating (PER) score as well.
Simply put, there aren’t many big men, let alone 7’5” players, who can do this:
In his first season under Popovich, Tim Duncan took the league by storm averaging 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 54.9% field goal shooting. He would go on to win the Rookie of the Year that season.
David Robinson averaged 24.3 points, 12 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, and 54.1% field goal shooting in his rookie season under Pop. He also won top rookie honours as well
As one of the most-hyped prospects to enter the league since LeBron James, Wemby is easily a lock as a Rookie of the Year finalist in the 2023-2024 season and could look to play in the All-Star Game in his 1st year as well.
Wemby Could Furthermore Cement Pop’s Legacy
Already regarded as one of the best coaches in NBA history, potentially coaching a once-in-a-generation talent in Wembyanama would help widen the gap between Gregg Popovich and the rest of the field.
We all saw what the Spurs achieved with Pop coaching the likes of Robinson, Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Leonard. With Wemby and a core including Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Zach Collins, and Tre Jones, the Spurs could push for a playoff spot as early as next year. And we all saw what the Lakers did as a play in team this year.
If Victor Wembyanama delivers the goods from France, the Spurs could once again become a fixture of the postseason for years to come.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Zereshk. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.