"Wembylasticman" - 7-feet-3 Victor Wembanyama doing splits and showing his flexibility routine leaves NBA fans stunned
Victor Wembanyama, the No.1 pick of NBA Draft, is preparing for his debut season with the San Antonio Spurs. On Sunday, a video appeared on Twitter, showing Wembanyama doing work in the gym, and fans were impressed by his skills and how lengthy and skinny he looked.
Potentially a generational talent, Wembanyama has already set the bar high, and fans view him as the next big thing in the league and the one who will bring the Spurs back to the top.
"Wembylasticman," a Twitter user wrote.
"The flexibility is impressive," another one tweeted.
"Ppl going joke lol, but this is really really good for strength and durability," another user posted.
"Legitimately most impressive thing I’ve seen in a while," a Twitter user posted.
"He is ridiculously flexible," another one wrote.
Watching him play in the French League last season and in the Summer League in July, people were wondering how his game would be affected if he added muscle, like Giannis Antetokounmpo did in his formative years.
Should Victor Wembanyama add muscle to endure physical game?
Victor Wembanyma should not add muscle to endure a physical game, according to his agent, Bouna Ndiaye. He feels Wemby should focus on working on his body and becoming stronger.
"People are wrong," Bouna Ndiaye said while speaking with Marc J. Spears of Andscape. "We're not focused at all on weights. I don't want to put weight on his body. We're going to fight to not put weight on his body. Weight on his body (is) a big mistake. We focus on strength, core. We were very pleased that he linked up Jabbar, who played until (41) years old. That's the path that we want to take.
"I'm very glad they connected because, uh, have a similar body type. Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) was not heavy. Victor is more mobile, gaudier and taller than Kareem. So, that difference in height is a challenge and is something that we are working on every day. Making him heavy? We don't want to do that."
Obviously, there is a need for Victor Wembanyama to add muscle to his body. The important thing is how much he will add. There has a to be a balance so his playing style, versatility and pace are not affected.
On the other hand, if he adds no muscle, he will have difficulty in matching other big men, who are stronger than him. Such an example could be Giannis Antetokounmpo, who added a lot of muscle and looks totally different compared to the skinny, young big man he was when he came to the NBA in 2013.
"If there is a weakness in his game, it's the fact that he is 7-foot-3, and he doesn't have a lot of muscle and strength," NBA insider Mark Medina said back in June. "Basketball evaluators think that he'll withstand that because he has all the other skills, but it's inevitable that teams are going to test him. It's going to be an adjustment.
"The people that I've talked to think that it'll take by year three or four, for him to fully master dealing with the physical nature of the league, as well as put on added strength."
In spite of his agent's comments, it is unlikely that Victor Wembanyama will not add muscle to his body heading to his rookie season. The Spurs know that and should have already made their plans on how to help him strengthen his body.
Victor Wembanyama is aware of the challenges he will face on both ends, and especially defensively, as the NBA is totally different than the French center is used to, so adding muscle will only benefit him both short- and long-term.