Victor Wembanyama of the
San Antonio Spurs was only 19 years old when he was tasked with leading his team last summer. That means that he hasn't even been alive for two decades. Therefore, it is not shocking to hear that his coach,
Gregg Popovich is the owner of certain bottles of win that have been around longer than Wembanyama.
"All my Bordeauxs are older than Victor. That's a true statement," Popovich recently said.
And while that might sound like a joke, it's likely very true. It is further confirmation that the NBA is a young man's league.
It doesn't matter how young Wembanyama is. The 20-year-old star is something very special and his stats back that up. He is now averaging 20.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and is leading the league in 3.5 blocks. He is also the first player in NBA history to have at least 30/15/5/5 while shooting over 50%.
Now that the Spurs are out of playoff contention, Popovich has been working to give Wembanyama as much time on the court as possible. He will clearly be the future of the team and is going to be playing a lot starting next year. Therefore, it's important that he has some fun in the final few weeks of the regular season, enhances his game, and feels more comfortable.
The season might not have ended well for the Spurs but that's not true for Wembanyama, who is currently the frontrunner for this season's Rookie of the Year.
Wembanyama is younger than some of the wines his coach owns and that is very good news for San Antonio because it means he will be doing amazing things for the team for years to come.