Watch - Victor Wembanyama blocks a shot at one end and finishes a thunderous dunk at the other
San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama had a rather so-so performance against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. The French phenom is starting with a much better game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Basketball fans who were likely disappointed with Wembanyama’s last performance, couldn’t wait to see more from him. In the second quarter, he completed a spectacular sequence that had the crowd wildly cheering:
BLOCK THE SHOT.
RUN THE FLOOR.
SLAM DUNK FINISH.
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“Wemby” blocked Jabari Parker’s short jumper and showed the kind of mobility that had basketball fans in awe to race to the other end. A quick pass from Julian Champagnie led to an emphatic dunk over the hapless Justin Minaya.
After scoring just nine points in the entire game against the Hornets, Wembanyama lit up the Blazers with nine second-quarter points. The rookie’s dunk off the break was the second consecutive slam he did for the San Antonio Spurs.
In the previous throw-down, Victor Wembanyama again showed how special he can be. He battled for a loose ball and tipped it to himself before dunking it over Parker and Ibou Badji.
WEMBY WITH A PAIR OF DUNKS 🔨🔨
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After the first 24 minutes of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers, “Wemby” already had 11 points, on 4-5 shooting, including six rebounds and two blocks. He showed his impact on both ends of the floor right off the bat.
The San Antonio Spurs helped Victor Wembanyama’s life easier with pin downs
Victor Wembanyama partly struggled in his debut against the Charlotte Hornets as he repeatedly received the ball at the top of the key. Charlotte’s defense had no trouble tracking him from his usual spot and consistently doubled him when he drove into the paint.
With more athletic defenders helping him on defense, the rookie struggled, hitting just 2-13 of his shots. It was expected that the Spurs would make the right adjustments.
In the game against the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio has been using more ball screens and pin downs. The Spurs are trying to make the defense work harder and also trusting “Wemby’s” excellent passing.
The result has been a more free-flowing offense from Victor Wembanyama compared to Friday’s erratic 1-7 start to the game.
Still, the 19-year-old phenom was able to show off some of his impromptu moves. Isolated against Jabari Parker on the elbow, he executed a nifty cross-over through his legs before pulling up for a sky-high jumper.
Victor Wembanyama makes the contested crossover middy;
Wemby; Spurs; Summer League https://t.co/6H6udM5xRP
Parker could only watch in awe as fans erupted in appreciation of what they had just seen.
Also read: Victor Wembanyama gets roasted by NBA fans after an underwhelming debut in Summer league - "Wembust should of stayed in France"