Victor Wembanyama scored an offseason workout with an NBA vet, but not the one you'd expect
By Brennan Sims
Second-year Spurs sensation Victor Webmanyama already proved he was an alien basketball player with the skillset he displays at 7 foot amillion. There's never been a player his size with the handle and touch he has.
Kevin Durant is another 7-foot player with guard-like crossovers, but he's at least four inches shorter than Wemby. He already has filthy moves in his arsenal not limited to running 3-pointers, Tim Hardaway killer crossovers, and KD-like behind-the-back moves, but could you imagine if Wemby got this shake-and-bake combination in his game?
This is on the horizon after Wemby reportedly linked up with NBA sixth-man legend Jamal Crawford, who owns some of the illest handles ever. Crawford took a liking to Wemby after an NBA TV segment that saw Crawford interviewing Wemby. The two promised to get in the gym in the offseason, and they delivered.
Crawford was known for using his go-go gadget wingspan to lull defenders to sleep with crossovers. His 6-foot-10 wingspan, at 6-foot-5, is comparable to Wemby's 8-foot wingspan, at 7-foot-4. Both skill-based assassins use their positive wingspan to bait defenders.
Working out with Crawford can only improve Wemby. Wemby's handle can be tighter, and Crawford is the master ball controller. Crawford played with a free-flowing, carefree mentality on the hardware. He wasn't stressing what combination he was going to hit you with next because that move is predicated on the defender's movement. Crawford's ability to take what the defense gave him is a skill he could pass on to Wemby, as well as the fact that he had the ball on a string!
Crawford's unpredictable nature led him to three Sixth Man of the Year awards and just under 20,000 career points. When it comes to scoring and ball control, he's someone the Spurs nation can trust has the best intentions for Wemby.
A tighter handle for Wemby would grant more oohs and ahhs from the crowd. A tighter handle could also drop his 16.9 turnover rate. That number ranked in the 19th percentile among bigs. Some turnovers are based on how much Wemby has the ball (30 percent usage rate), but others are him getting stuck after attempting to bail his team out. Â
Superstar talent like Paolo Banchero (who also works out with Crawford) has a similar usage rate as Wemby but turns the ball over at a lesser rate. Paolo is a natural point forward, smaller than Wemby, and has a tighter handle. Wemby may never have the ball control of a Banchero, but do you need it when you're that gigantic? Wemby's just sharpening up his skills at his pace, and that's deadly enough.
Wemby has many pro moves in his arsenal, but working out with Crawford would make his handle tighter, taking his game to another level. This could reduce some of those in-traffic turnovers.