Victor Wembanyama's year 4 leap must involve controlling the middle of the floor more often

Is this the year Victor Wembanyama takes control of the middle of the floor? Does he learn to strike the perfect balance between his three-point shooting and knowing when to attack the rim? Those are the two questions at the front of my mind for San Antonio’s franchise superstar heading into his fourth season.

Wemby may be learning to dominate like the big men before him

Nikola Jokic is the most recent example of a center who can control the game from the middle of the floor, but he’s hardly the first. If you have the kind of feathery touch the French phenom has, the elbows and free-throw line areas should be your best friend.

From Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki to Antonio McDyess and David West, big men have learned they can do a lot of damage from those spots. Vic seems to be figuring out the same thing. If that's true, we should see a lot more of this.

During the preseason, Wembanyama operated as a playmaking hub from the areas we want to see him in. With his skill set, length, and range, all of the Alien’s tools are available to him there. If he takes two steps back, he can shoot the three, but he can also just pull it from where he’s standing. Most defenders have no shot at blocking or realistically contesting it.

Wemby can also kick it to open shooters or timely cutters. We’ve seen him throw lob passes, mostly to Stephon Castle, from that spot. But the best part is that he only needs one dribble and can attack the rim. When you’re 7’4” with an 8’0” wingspan, getting easy points in the paint should be a nagging desire you can’t live without—like blood for a vampire.  

Vic entered the NBA with an extremely slender frame. It was always going to take time for him to add enough strength to impose his will physically, so criticisms over his refusal to get beat up every night were premature. He’s entering year 4 now. It’s time to start dictating to defenses on his own terms.

Wembanyama’s threes have to be a counter and not a crutch

For Wembanyama, dictating will also include knocking down threes. He just needs to take them at the right time. His best mark came in his sophomore season at 35.2%, and he slipped to 34.9% last year on far fewer looks. He jacked up 8.8 a night in his shortened sophomore season before a blood clot cut that run short. He settled for 5.5 in 2025-26.

The encouraging part is that the shift has already started. Wemby’s three-point rate fell from 47% of his attempts in year two to 32% last season, and his field goal percentage climbed to a career-best 51.2%. His free throw attempts even jumped from 4.1 a game to 7.0. That’s a player who’s realized he has to stop settling.

This is the season where all of it has to come together. Not necessarily more shots because he’ll be sharing the rock with a pretty talented and deep crew, but better ones from the spots that belong to him. That's the difference between a great regular season and a June with a different ending.

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