Victor Wembanyama’s Bruce Lee rule is rewriting where the Alien gets his points

Victor Wembanyama recently explained his view on his developing iso game by leaning on a famous Bruce Lee quote, and the numbers back him up. It's been a long (fun) few years getting to this point, but Wemby is attacking the basket, folks.

Spurs fans, analysts, hell, anyone who enjoys the game of basketball rooting to see the next legend rise, have been screaming for San Antonio's French problem to stop drifting out to the arc. Go get your fill in the lane. Five games into year four, he's doing that.

After the Kings win, he told Maxime Aubin that "Bruce Lee fears the man who has repeated one kick 1,000 times, and not 1,000 different kicks once." Cut down the moves, read the defense, have a plan. This is the way.

Through five games, 45.9% of Wembanyama's field goal attempts have come in the restricted area, per NBA.com. That's 45 out of 98 shots and a career high by a mile. He was at 35.7% last season, 24.2% before that, and 33.4% as a rookie. San Antonio is 3-2, and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is putting up 25 points and 11.4 rebounds on 48% shooting.

Victor Wembanyama's rim rate is the Spurs' biggest offensive change

The dunk numbers will put a smile on fans' faces. Wemby has attempted a dunk on 28.6% of his field goal attempts, per Basketball-Reference. His previous career best was 18.1% last season. He's made 25 of 28 of them.

That increased rate is intentional. The Silver and Black's frontman is working on refining his attack. He's narrowing his arsenal on purpose, and the rim numbers are what that looks like in a box score.

We've argued that the ball should find Wembanyama closer to the rim, and that picking a spot opens things up for everyone else. That's what we're getting.

Wemby should still shoot whatever he wants

Let's nip this potential thought in the bud, though. I'm not saying Wemby should stop shooting threes. First of all, he's not going to, so that'd be a waste of keystrokes. Secondly, and more importantly, a 7'4" center pulling 28-footers is one of the special traits that make him impossible to defend. The goal isn't to turn him into a completely predictable, one-dimensional player.

Vic just needs to be smarter about when he takes them. Only 29.6% of his shots are coming from behind the arc right now, down from 32.4% last season. That's a step in the right direction. He's settling less and working toward the version of himself that ends up being the greatest to ever do it.

Let him keep adding strength gradually and drilling the moves that work until they're second nature. Wembanyama is still scaling it down, finding out what works, and developing those moves. That's what everyone wants to see—everyone except his opponents.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow