A quiet Victor Wembanyama leap may make him trivia question answer

An All-NBA selection isn't far-fetched for Victor Wembanyama in 2025-26. In fact, if he plays in enough games, it almost feels like a no-brainer that he'll make one of the three teams. It would be his first-ever appearance, and it would help continue a trend that's stretched back over 20 years; every year since 2003-2004, multiple players have their first All-NBA team. Thanks to Sam Vecenie of the Game Theory Podcast for that statistical nugget.

So no, the trivia question isn't "When did Victor Wembanyama become the best player in basketball," although the answer to that question might be 2025-26, too. Regardless, there's always room for new guys to crack All-NBA teams and if that trend does continue, Wembanyama has to be the top guy to earn his first nod.

Amen Thompson, Paolo Banchero, Zion Williamson, and Franz Wagner all have legit chances at their first All-NBA teams as well. There are always a few surprise breakouts too, but someone not on that list would have to level up massively to get into the All-NBA discussion.

How can Victor Wembanyama make an All-NBA team?

If he posts the exact same season he did last year and hits the 65 games played requirement, Wembanyama is pretty much guaranteed to make at least third-team All-NBA. 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 35 percent on 3-pointers. That's an All-NBA player, surely — and probably not a third-teamer. Making first-team All-Defense (which you can pencil in on a yearly basis at this point) will also help his case.

The craziest part is, Wembanyama will probably increase all of those numbers. I don't think the scoring will jump too much (averaging 24 was already outrageous in his second year) and it's nearly impossible to average more than 3.8 blocks per game in the modern NBA (though I would love to see him try).

No, I believe the biggest jump from Wemby will be his assist numbers. His passing talent far exceeds his assist numbers in his first two seasons and I think this is the year the stats catch up to the eye test. If he can boost that part of his game a little bit, it will feel like yet another "leap" from a player who started his career already better than about 95 percent of his peers.