Wembanyama made the shot everyone wants, but the tape shows why it was harder than it looked

Everyone's favorite Victor Wembanyama play in the Spurs' Friday night loss to the Rockets was the post-up jump hook he made over Tari Eason late in the second quarter. It's easy to see why. The Spurs' centerpiece gave us a glimpse of what's possible if he masters that area. But it's important to realize he hasn't perfected it yet, so that part of his game still must be given grace.

Eason moved Wembanyama off the block twice before the shot

Watch where Wemby catches the ball, compared to where he takes the shot. He starts on the low block. After one bump, he's pushed to the middle of the paint. On the second bump, Eason gets him to move out a little further, so by the time Vic goes into his shot, he's one short step inside the free-throw line.

Now, he made the shot because of the great touch that adds to his freakish toolkit, but it was harder than it should have been, and other players stronger than Tari can make it even tougher.

San Antonio's French franchise frontman has consistently added power over the offseasons, but he started from an incredibly slim base. He smartly refuses to rush his weight gain, so it's taking more time to gain the strength necessary to play in the paint consistently.

That doesn't mean he shouldn't get down in the lane to battle more than he currently does, but it's not as simple as some would like to believe. One of the counters to what Eason was doing would have been spinning off his body to the baseline for a fadeaway, or a quick dive to the basket when the Rockets' defender braced for the bump. We've even seen him do it before. It's just not second nature yet.

Wemby already knows what’s missing

On the positive side, Wemby is incredibly aware of where his game needs to evolve into the unstoppable force we all want him to become. He said as much postgame on Friday night when asked about his comfort level with playing with his back to the basket.

“My level of comfort is growing, and that’s the point; you know, I want to make it grow. It’s my future of the game, for sure.” - Victor Wembanyama

To be honest, that's enough for me. Vic has the awareness, so now it's just about the development. ESPN's Michael C. Wright reported that the Alien went back to work with Hakeem Olajuwon during the offseason. He's done this for two summers in a row, so that's the Spurs' star being intentional about what he needs to work on.

The truth is that he's still probably more comfortable shooting one-legged three-pointers than he is trying to get his Tim Duncan on the low block. It takes time to reach that level, and he's still working on building the frame to support that style.

Once it comes, the floodgates break, but let's not act like he doesn't open them periodically right now. Until then, he needs to get easier buckets off pin-downs and other off-ball actions that allow him to attack the defense on the move. But they'll figure it out. This is a guy who averaged 25 points last regular season and 26 points in the Finals. The last thing we should be worried about is his production.

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