MIAMI (AP) — Victor Wembanyama has a new height. He's thinking about new heights.
Wembanyama — healthy again after deep vein thrombosis forced doctors to end his 2024-25 season two months early — starts Year 3 with the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday when they visit the Dallas Mavericks. It's a matchup of top picks; Wembanyama went No. 1 in 2023, the Mavericks' Cooper Flagg was No. 1 this year.
Wembanyama knows the Western Conference is loaded. He wants a playoff spot anyway and thinks the Spurs are good enough to get there.
“Looking forward to this very much,” the 21-year-old Wembanyama said. “It's definitely the next step in many of our careers. Me and my teammates, we're all eyes on it.”
The French star even put a number on what he would define a successful season: Wembanyama wants the No. 6 seed, at minimum. The meaning there is obvious, in that he wants the Spurs to finish the regular season with a guaranteed postseason spot and not have to fight through the play-in tournament.
Only the top six finishers in each conference are assured of playoff spots, while the teams that finish No. 7 through No. 10 have to go the play-in route.
“Success would be getting to the playoffs and not the play-in,” Wembanyama said. “That means sixth seed.”
Wembanyama was the rookie of the year in 2023-24 and a defensive player of the year frontrunner last season before the thrombosis was found. He was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists per game when he was shut down in February; the only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
“I just don’t ever recall a player who has so much influence on both ends of the floor,” said Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, who added that he feels fortunate the Pacers and Spurs aren't in the same conference.
Wembanyama can finish. Can shoot from outside. Can pass. Can handle the ball. He is generally considered the league's best defensive player. And for this season, he's added bulk as well.
“You just watch in disbelief,” Carlisle said.
And Wemby is only going to get even better.
“That sometimes is the difficulty, when you have to temper the excitement, expectations and imagination of where he can go,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I think all of us probably in some way were still maturing or evolving physically at 19, 20, 21, especially if you’re an athlete. ... That, along with his game, along with his mind, is going to continue to grow.”
Speaking of growing, there's also the constant question of Wembanyama's height. It's a mystery, other than the obvious answer — that being, he's really, really, really, really tall.
He was, officially, 7-foot-3 as a rookie. He's now 7-foot-4, at least on paper. Some said he actually was 7-foot-5 when he left France, and former NBA player Boban Marjanovic thinks Wembanyama might be even taller than that now.
“No way I'm taller than him,” the 7-foot-4 Marjanovic said on ESPN last week.
Officially, the tallest player in the league last season was Memphis' Zach Edey — listed at 7-foot-4. There's no reason to think that height isn't accurate. But when Wembanyama and Edey are side by side, it sure seems like the Spurs' center might be the taller one.
“None of us are close, so it’s all a guess,” Johnson said. “I got no clue. I have to stand on this chair and get the measuring stick, so I know he’s taller than me — 7-something.”
If Wembanyama knows the precise number, he's not saying. But the fascination with it amuses him.
“Over the years it’s become a non-subject to me,” Wembanyama said. “Because in my opinion, there’s so many more interesting things about me. ... The truth is, sometimes I’m surprised there’s still a conversation because in my mind, it doesn’t really make a difference. I'm taller than everybody else. That's all you need to know."
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