Wemby Is An NBA Savior!
Wemby Is An NBA Savior!
Video Transcript
Victor Wembanyama single-handedly resurrected a dying breed.
During the reign of the Steph Curry-led Warriors, teams began to mimic their rosters to match their play style.
This meant adding players who could stretch the floor, and forget about adding tall centers who couldn't shoot.
The shift caused guys like Jahlil Okafor and Kenneth Faried to lose their spot in the NBA, and forced players who were originally back to the basket bigs, like Brook Lopez and Boogie Cousins, to completely shift their game.
In a sport that's always been about height, all of a sudden there wasn't a need for them anymore.
Teams played positionless basketball and used a pace-and-space-type system.
The Rockets even had P.J.
Tucker, who was only 6'5", play center for almost an entire season.
Of course, some teams still experimented by adding a player here and there that stood at least 7'2" and couldn't shoot, but they mostly rode the bench, as they'd eventually have to match up against teams who played at a faster pace.
From the 2020 to 2023 season, the league only had five players who were at least 7'2".
2023 was the start of Wemby's rookie season.
Once Wemby finished his rookie season averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds, and nearly leading the league in blocks, suddenly there was a demand for size again.
The Grizzlies shocked everyone when they drafted 7'4" Zach Edey with the ninth pick.
Nobody ever thought 7'2" Chinese big man Yang Han Shen would be one of the first 16 players drafted in the 2025 draft.
In the 2026 draft, the Thunder drafted 7'3" Ade Mara with the 13th pick, despite already having two 7-footers on their team.
They didn't care if these guys could shoot.
All they want was someone tall and strong that could defend Wemby, which makes a lot of sense.
With Wemby's skill set, no way can someone three or four inches shorter than him hold Wemby to under 20 points or 10 boards.
Can you actually imagine telling this to someone when the Warriors just won their third title in four years?
That one team has three 7-footers, and are going to spend 70 million of their cap space on them for one season.
For the 2026 to 2027 season, the NBA will have a 2020s record of eight players be listed above 7'2".
The demand for height has been at an all-time high, that for the first time in his NBA career, Wemby won't even be the tallest player for the season.
That honor will go to 7'5" Jamarion Sharp, who signed with the Clippers this off-season.
The era of small ball isn't over, but thanks to Wemby, giants are welcome back in the NBA.
