Basketball training hasn’t been a focus for Victor Wembanyama this offseason, as highlighted in The Ringer’s Thursday piece. But that’s OK. He’s doing what the great big man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did before him: exercising his interest in martial arts, which in Kareem’s case, aided his pro career and according to him, made him more durable.
Wemby’s extracurricular activities are strengthening his mind for the most important season of his career. An unorthodox approach like this one should not worry
anyone bleeding silver and black because it’s being executed by an individual with a high level of work ethic. Time away from a loved activity can also mentally charge a person so they are in top operating condition when returning to it.
In Wembanyama’s case, his workouts with the monks will bring value to his field. Think of it as someone trying a machine or free weight in the gym they never use. Diversifying makes one stronger, and he’s probably learning to bend his body in ways that will make him stretch an extra inch to block a shot or backpedal quicker against top-grade ball handlers.
As highlighted in March in the Men’s Health piece about his new wave style- using timed chess matches in his training- Wemby has already shown off the charts results doing things his way. The best example of this was Wemby, a 7-foot-3 unicorn, increasing his 3-point attempts (3.3) going into his sophomore season and raising his accuracy by 3.3 percent. A lot of the stuff he was working on will help with his timing so is it wild to think he might elevate his communication and help defense substantially?
One presumes that with extra weapons around him, Wembanyama will be a triple-double threat nightly, but the idea he has for himself as a peak player is probably something beyond comprehension. The Spurs are doing the right thing in trusting him like a CEO with the space and freedom he sees fit to get there.
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