Story by
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama gets ‘perfect’ compliment from Shaq
- Story by
- Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama gets ‘perfect’ compliment from Shaq
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama gets ‘perfect’ compliment from Shaq appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Victor Wembanyama has proven to be every bit the difference maker he is for the San Antonio Spurs in his first taste of playoff action. In Game 5, Wembanyama may have taken a backseat to De’Aaron Fox on the offensive end, with Fox keeping the Portland Trail Blazers at bay en route to their 114-95 victory, but he was elite on the defensive end — recording six blocked shots on the night, including a few emphatic rejections, that killed any hopes of a comeback from the seventh-seeded Blazers.
Advertisement
This was the kind of performance scouts were foreseeing from Wembanyama even before he entered the NBA in 2023, and he has since blossomed into a complete player who is as unselfish as he can be. The Spurs are thriving as a result , and it’s difficult to believe that Wembanyama is only 22 years of age.
Even Shaquille O’Neal, who is notoriously hard on his fellow big men as evidenced by his treatment of Dwight Howard and Rudy Gobert , just to name a few, has been fully convinced of how “perfect” the Spurs’ star big man is.
“I think Wemby is the first perfect big man that’s ever created. Can shoot, free throws, play defense, play offense, he’s a great team player. I’m happy for the Spurs, I’m happy for Wemby. He’s a joy to watch,” O’Neal said on Inside the NBA following the Spurs’ series-clinching win over the Blazers on Tuesday.
This is quite the huge compliment coming from Shaq, as he does not typically praise his big man peers the way he just did for Wembanyama.
Advertisement
It’s difficult to find fault in what Wembanyama is doing for the Spurs, as he is the best deterrent at the rim at today’s NBA and arguably in the history of the association, and he doesn’t have an outsized ego, as he’s always willing to defer to his teammates.
If Wembanyama were to continue what he’s doing, then the Spurs are going to be destined for bigger and better things — perhaps as soon as this year.
Related: What Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama said about Giannis trade rumors without even saying his name
Related: Spurs-Kings trade was godsend for De’Aaron Fox, who finally gets playoff monkey off back
