Spurs' Victor Wembanyma hit with 'tired' label amid brutal shooting slump
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Nine games into his second season in the NBA, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembaynama’s offensive numbers have been down from his rookie year across the board. Wembanyama, 20, has played more basketball in the last 12 months than he ever has before, leading to experts believing his struggles might be a sign of fatigue.
Sources across the league have suspected that Wembanyama has looked “tired” early in the 2024-2025 season, per ESPN analysts Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps. Windhorst and Bontemps pointed out that in the last year, Wembanyama has played 71 NBA games before immediately flying back home to lead the France national team to a runner-up finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“At least one scout told ESPN Wembanyama has looked tired early this season, after the combination of 71 NBA games last year, followed by the Paris Olympics, where the hosts nearly knocked off the Americans in the gold medal game in August,” Bontemps wrote.
“Wembanyama decided to skip the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which greatly disappointed French fans and contributed to them not advancing to the medal round,” Windhorst wrote. “He and his advisors were already looking ahead to how demanding the following 24 months were going to be in the NBA. Wembanyama didn’t take much time off after the Paris games, either, rather quickly choosing to go to San Antonio to start workouts with teammates.”
While Wembaynama has played basketball his entire life, the physicality of the NBA has taken a different toll on the slim 7-foot-3 star. That, along with a grueling FIBA schedule over the summer, would be too much for most rookies to deal with who are not even old enough to legally consume alcohol in the United States.
As a rookie, Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks per game in 29.7 minutes. He lived up to the hype as the No. 1 overall pick, winning the Kia Rookie of the Year award. However, early in his second season, his numbers are down to 17.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.7 blocks per game. The only statistical improvements he has made are on the defensive end, where he currently leads the NBA in blocks and is the early favorite to take home his first Defensive Player of the Year award.
New-look Spurs struggle early amid Victor Wembanyama’s shooting slump
As one might expect, the Spurs are struggling early in the year with Wembanyama off to a slow start. The offseason addition of veteran Chris Paul has helped facilitate their offense, but San Antonio has dealt with a handful of injury issues to several other key rotational pieces.
Devin Vassell, the team’s 2023-2024 second-leading scorer, has yet to make his season debut with a foot injury. Meanwhile, Jeremy Sochan, the current second-leading scorer, is out for the foreseeable future after fracturing his thumb in just the seventh game of the season. Third-year guard Malaki Branham is also questionable moving forward after suffering an ankle injury against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The upcoming return of Vassell will undoubtedly aid Wembanyama on offense but the 4-5 Spurs have yet to play at full strength. In their brief time together, Wembanyama has tended to play better with Vassell in the lineup than when his running mate is out.
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