Popovich confirms desire for unleashed Wembanyama after historic performance

Well, it looks like Victor Wembanyama is okay after all. The Alien came out aggressively against the Utah Jazz after an unusually passive night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. If you watched his press conferences, you could tell he's been under the weather the past couple of games, but it was still odd to witness from the 7'4" phenom.

Whether you want to attribute the outlier to an illness or OKC's vice-grip-style defense, the past is the past, and the Spurs can only learn from it. It helps when you're not playing one of the best teams in the league while you're trying to rebuild from the ground up.

Wemby made sure to put his stamp on his game as he launched and buried a couple of threes right out of the gate. The performance that followed his opening was one that, once again, reinforced his stature as the next legendary superstar.

However, for a player his size, he takes a lot of three-pointers—he reached a new career high with 13 vs. the Jazz—and that's been a problem for many analysts, former players, and even Spurs fans who believe he should be playing closer to the basket. But in his postgame press conference after San Antonio beat the Jazz 106-88, Pop said that's exactly what he wants from The Alien.

"Absolutely. Absolutely. He's more of a perimeter player than he is a post player, and we want him to be able to do everything. Isolate, shoot, do the whole deal. We just can't do it all at once. It just depends on the situation and what's going on." - Coach Popovich

Wembanyama must do what makes him special to reach his peak

You don't get the nickname "The Alien" because you're a carbon copy of Shaq or Hakeem Olajuwon. You get it because you do things that players shouldn't be doing for one reason or another. Wemby's reason is his size. His ability to handle the ball like a guard, pull up off the dribble, make threes, and pass like Nikola Jokic is what makes him unique, and you can't try to take that out of his game.

Coach Pop was right on the money when he said he wanted him to do the "whole deal." Otherwise, why would you draft him? Asking Wemby to stand in the paint all game is buying a new Porsche and leaving it parked in the garage. You have to get out there and test those features.

People sometimes seem to forget that Wembanyama is only 20 years old. He has a little over half a decade before he reaches his prime. During that growing period, there will be some inconsistencies as he figures out what works, and he improves with training in each offseason. Just give him time, and he'll be exactly what was foretold.