Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA Playoffs with a lot of confidence and bravado. And why wouldn’t he be? His hard work in the offseason, in which Wemby went to different continents and worked with different types of people to sharpen his mind and body, had paid off in spades as he averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals and 3.1 blocks per game to become one of the best players in the entire league.
More than anything, Victor had led the San Antonio Spurs to the second-best record in the cutthroat Western Conference. So, nobody could really blame the 7’4″ Frenchman if he felt good about his team’s chances of making noise in the postseason, even though most of the Spurs didn’t have any playoff experience.
Fast forward to the second round, and although Wemby remains as confident as ever, he has surely learned by now how the playoffs are the ultimate proving ground. With defenses honed in on him like never before, he is still putting up 18.3 points on 49.1 percent shooting, 12.3 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
However, one undeniable stain on his playoff performance is his dreadful mark from beyond the arc. After making 34.9 of his 3-pointers in the regular season, his long-distance shooting has dipped to a paltry 23.8 percent. And according to former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, this is a substantial reason why the Spurs are tied with the T-Wolves at 2-2 in their second-round showdown.
Why insist on shooting from long range?
Wemby is a unicorn in the NBA in every sense of the word. There have been some who possessed the same skill set — Kevin Garnett, Kristaps Porzingis and Dirk Nowitzki come to mind — but none of them has combined elite ball-handling, scoring and shot-blocking as Wembanyama has.
However, with the gift comes a curse. Since Vic is prolific from the outside, there are times when he relies on his shot a tad too much, negating the size advantage he has over any defender in the league.
“If you’re 7-foot-6 and you’re shooting 25%, you have to ask yourself why,” Gil ranted on his show. “Who’s really challenging your shot?”
With his size and length, the 3-pointer is there for Wemby to shoot on every trip down the floor. But this is a classic case of just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
“One, you’re shooting them at the wrong time. You finish getting tired, then you want to shoot it. Or you’re shooting when Rudy Gobert is on you, where he can at least contest it. You’re making the shot harder on yourself,” Gil continued.
Related: “She’s rubbed some NBA legs, but none like Barkley’s” – A female massage therapist claimed Charles Barkley had the biggest thighs in the NBA
Wemby shooting from the outside is doing the T-Wolves a favor
Arenas did not mince any words in diagnosing the Spurs’ ills against the T-Wolves, saying the more that Wemby shoots from the outside, the higher their opponent’s chances of success against them will be. For one, it means Minnesota won’t have to worry about Wemby getting easy second-chance points on an easy putback.
“The more threes you shoot — not your team, but you personally — the more comfortable I feel,” Gil remarked.
“Because that means Rudy’s not getting in foul trouble. There are no offensive rebounds because you’re out on the perimeter shooting threes. So your team’s chances of getting offensive rebounds are much lower. That means no offensive rebounds, no quick putbacks, no and-ones,” he furthered.
“I would encourage my team: let that man shoot 10 to 15 threes. It helps our chances.”
With a pivotal Game 5 coming up, it remains to be seen if Wembanyama will be able to play after he was ejected from Game 4 for elbowing Naz Reid on his chin. Although the Spurs were able to put up a solid fight and even led by eight in the fourth, it was apparent the T-Wolves were more confident in getting to the rack without a 7’4″ giant standing in front of the rim.
Related: “They the new grit-and-grind” – Paul Pierce challenges Victor Wembanyama to match the Wolves’ physicality
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
