According to those in the know, Gregg Popovich has postponed his retirement in order to coach Victor Wembanyama. The generational talent in his first NBA season did not disappoint expectations. In the United States there was talk of one of the best seasons ever for a rookie. There was no shortage of exciting performances, from the career high 40 points with New York to the 5×5 with the Lakers with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks and 5 steals; to the two triple doubles of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in Detroit, and 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in Toronto. Overall, he recorded 43 double-doubles, 11 games of 30 or more points, and only 3 times did he not reach double figures. In one year Wembanyama collected over 1500 points, 250 blocks and 100 triples, rewriting NBA history. But this is also an unmistakable sign of its authentic three-dimensionality on 28×15.
It is no surprise that he won the rookie of the year award unanimously, named first by all ninety-nine journalists and experts who voted. To continue rolling your eyes, it should be known that he became, again in the overseas league, the youngest player to record a game of 20 points and 20 rebounds (19 years and 338 days); and the youngest player ever to record a triple-double without turnovers (20 years and 6 days). All this, despite the fact that the last championship was negative for San Antonio, which finished second to last in its conference with a record of 22 victories and 60 defeats.
And so to allow The Alien to continue to grow in a winning environment, allowing the team to have a more positive path, Popovich (who we hope to see again on the bench soon) has decided to place alongside him a bitter enemy, who has always been ‘hated’ by the Spurs manager for his undoubted abilities. That is, that Chris Paul who hasn’t lost a season since 2006/07, when the Charlotte Hornets achieved a record of 39 wins and 43 losses. Without considering, however, the 2009/10 season, with the Hornets still finishing the championship with a record of 37-45, but with Cp3 playing only 45 games due to an injury. Precisely for this reason Point God is considered a winner, even though in his 19-year career he only reached the NBA Finals once with the Phoenix Suns. And only the previous year, 2019/20, he dragged the Oklahoma City Thunder to the playoffs when every betting agency quoted them at 0.2%.
The combination in the black and silver jersey between the French phenomenon and the veteran point guard is working, because having reached about a quarter of the regular season, San Antonio has a record of 11 wins and 9 defeats, therefore above 50%, occupying tenth place and one step away from the playoffs. Additionally, the Spurs experimented with many different pick-and-roll matchups with Wembanyama as a blocker last year. This season, however, Paul was the ball handler as Wemby set the block five times more often than any of his teammates. And obviously, you can also see the results. In fact, they are one of the best pick and roll duos in the NBA this season, producing 1.09 points per play. And on January 23 and 25, on the occasion of the NBA Paris Games 2025, the couple will bring their creativity and their games to the Accor Arena. After this summer’s Olympics, it will be another opportunity for Wembanyama to delight the Parisian public.
Giovanni Bocciero
