Blueprint to fix Wembanyama's biggest weakness is hidden in recent Spurs history

The turnover issue can be fixed.
San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Clippers
San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Clippers / Harry How/GettyImages
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The Spurs have played ten games this season. They've shown improvements in several areas, such as rebounding and free throw percentage, but regressed in others, like assists—last season San Antonio was second with 29.9 per game. That number has dropped to 25.7 per game, which is good for 17th in the league this year.

They're working on getting back to the top in that stat, but they have some work to do, and part of that is securing catches and being strong with the ball. Too many passes end up in the hands of the defense or out-of-bounds.

The turnover problem has continued to be a nagging issue for this team going back to last season, and it's Victor Wembanyama's biggest bugaboo. Fortunately, there's already an established method to fix the French franchise star's problem.

Wembanyama must strengthen his hands to reduce his turnovers

The size of Victor Wembanyama's hands has often been the source of disbelief and awe. While there is no official measurement on record, it's easy to see how massive they are.

One would think that possessing mitts that large would come with a vice grip strong enough to choke an oak tree, but that's not necessarily the case, and it's not the first time the Spurs had a player with a similar issue. In the summer of 2016, Kawhi Leonard—known as the Klaw based on his enormous hands—figured out he needed to improve the strength in his hands and went to work doing so.

"Every day he went to work, and started throwing and catching sand-filled spheres called slamballs. And when he curled 70 lbs. dumbbells, he attached a fat grip to make his hands stronger," Tom Haberstroh explained at the time.

The result of his work was astounding, as he began ripping the ball away from opponents with relative ease—a tool that helped elevate his defensive skills after winning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. Every ball Leonard got his hands on was his, with little to no exception.

That can be the case for Wembanyama. It can be frustrating to watch players smaller than him rip the ball from his grasp or watch him fumble passes and rebounds that should be his as soon as the ball touches his palm.

His shooting has been poor to start this season, so some may believe that's his biggest weakness. But the best shooters in the history of the league have gone through shooting slumps. It's not unusual for a young player to experience offensive struggles as a sophomore. Quite the opposite, actually.

His shot will start falling eventually, but it's more important to at least get a shot up, and turning the ball over robs your team of that opportunity. He averaged 3.7 turnovers per game last season, and he's averaging 3.4 this campaign. Some of those can be eliminated with a more powerful grip, and hopefully, he addresses that in the offseason.

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