3 things struggling San Antonio Spurs must do to maximize Victor Wembanyama's stellar rookie year

After enjoying an almost two-decade-long run of dominance, the San Antonio Spurs are now reduced to rebuilding around 7-foot-4 Frenchman Victor Wembanyama. A rebuild was bound to happen for the Spurs as their stars finally retired and Kawhi Leonard decided to move on from them.

However, their current state this season is a far cry from what the fans of the Silver and Black are used to. The Spurs are now sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference after going on a 16-game losing streak and the team and its fans are likely to endure more heartache for the rest of the season.

They were in a similar position last year but it was easier for fans to endure the fact that they were at the bottom of the standings because they knew that there was a price waiting, which was the 2023 draft's number 1 pick.

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3 things the Spurs should do to maximize Victor Wembanyama's rookie year

Being able to draft Wemby is only the first step of the process if the Spurs want to recapture their former glory, both as a team and for the French rookie individually. They are not going to win the West this year and the best thing they can do is ensure that Victor Wembanyama has the best rookie season. Here are three things the Spurs can do to ensure that it happens.

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#1 Start Tre Jones

Victor Wembanyama moves like a guy half his size, capable of handling the ball at times. However, he would still benefit from having a point guard who can run the offense. Tre Jones has shown that he can synergize well with Wemby but they do not share the court as much with Jeremy Sochan running the point most of the time.

Allowing Wemby to grow comfortable in a system where a guard runs things will teach him to be better at getting himself open away from the ball through movement and with pick-and-rolls, and even utilizing his size to help his teammates get open through off-ball screens and fades, which will in turn benefit guys like Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell.

Jones has shown that he can run the Spurs offense and pairing him more with Wemby will help both grow, which will in turn be great for the Spurs' future.

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#2 Make him take less threes

Nowadays, for a big man to be considered an offensive threat, he needs to be able to shoot threes. While there is some truth to this statement, it is not the whole truth. Victor Wembanyama has averaged 5.1 attempts per game from downtown so far but has only averaged 1.3 makes. So far this year, that's 102 attempts with only 26 makes.

While his size makes it harder to defend him on the perimeter, he has not always capitalized on his advantage. It could be time to ask him to rein it in and take more shots from inside the arc. This could be the key to unlocking a better offense and could help him learn a few new tricks. It can also make him more which could propel him over Chet Holmgren in the ROY conversations.

An expanded inside game will be beneficial for Wemby, which will of course be great for the Spurs moving forward.

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#3 Find an on-court mentor for him

Victor Wembanyama's teachers are some of the best to have played the game. When he was drafted, a big deal was made of the fact that guys like David Robinson, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan would be around to mentor him. Not to mention the fact that he is playing under Gregg Popovich.

Having these legends in his corner is great but another thing that will hugely benefit the 19-year-old is learning from someone who is still active in the league. Finding a veteran big man to teach him some things is not a bad idea and will be instrumental for Victor Wembanyama moving forward.

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