SAN ANTONIO – Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has people talking. Here’s what some of his fellow NBA players said this week.
Before the Spurs host the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night at the Frost Bank Center, T-Wolves center and fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert gushed about the teenager.
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“I’m kind of like a proud dad when I watch him play. Really happy for him,” Gobert told the media. “He’s put in the work, so you know he’d dedicated. Like, I’ve probably never seen a 19-year-old dedicated, so he’s been doing some incredible things, and it’s going to be fun to face each other and yeah, just go out there, try to get a win.”
The Indiana Pacers hosted the Spurs Monday night, and the Pacers won 152-111. During the morning shootaround, Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle and some of the Pacers had some nice things to say about Wembanyama.
“It’s a new type of player completely,” Carlisle said. “He’s everything that was advertised just in terms of impact, skill, ridiculous highlights. Things we’ve never seen before.”
Pacers center Myles Turner has worked out with Wemby in the past and is impressed with how he can still block shots after he seems to be beaten on defense.
“If you hit him, he can still recover,” Turner said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
On Sunday, the Toronto Raptors got their first taste of Wembanyama this season. He dropped 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the Spurs’ 123 to 116 loss.
“He’s a shot blocker when he’s out there on the floor,” Raptors guard Scottie Barnes said during postgame. “When they’re talking about him, you just really got to watch out for him, see where he’s at on the floor and if he’s coming to try and block the shot. So, just trying to be aware of where he’s at on the floor. I think that’s why we got a lot of really good kickout threes today. That was mostly one of the effects of that.”
Raptors’ 6-foot-7 small forward O.G. Anunoby was asked about his experience playing against Victor Wembanyama.
“He’s definitely very agile. He’s a good mover. He’s very, very athletic,” Anunoby said.