Victor Wembanyama has established himself as a truly once-in-a-lifetime talent in the three NBA seasons he has played thus far. The 7-foot-4-inch phenomenon led the San Antonio Spurs all the way to the NBA Finals last season, and his impact on both ends of the floor is only going to increase in the coming years.
At the same time, there has been considerable concern about whether Wembanyama needs to gain weight to be more physical in the paint. And while that is an expectation often placed on him, LaVar Ball has a different opinion.
LaVar Ball Downplays Victor Wembanyama’s Weight Concern
Speaking to Dwight Howard on “The LaVar Ball Show,” Ball spoke about a range of NBA stars, including Nikola Jokic and Wembanyama. Howard initially asked Ball if he thought Wemby needed to put on 15 pounds of muscle, or if that would be ‘too much for his body type.’
“Here is what I always thought about the size and the weight,” he said. “It don’t matter if he gained 30 pounds if he cannot run. It don’t matter, his game gotta stay the same. So he could eat and gain the weight but you see him don’t get injured like that coz he don’t have a lot of weight,” Ball explained.
LaVar Ball says Nikola Jokić would never fit into a system he runs because “he can’t run” like other NBA players, while still praising Jokić for mastering his own unique style. LaVar and Dwight Howard also debate whether Victor Wembanyama needs to add more weight to become even… pic.twitter.com/M3raTRX7NY
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LaVar effectively claimed that Wembanyama has his own game, and does not need to gain weight or do anything differently to succeed in the NBA.
“They trying to force him. You know what? He not like you, go down the bottom and just turn around, boom, take this, couple of things, that’s not his game. So don’t start doing that now. He can shoot the three. He’s agile, he is long enough to block the shot where you don’t need the body.” he said.
However, Ball also believes that Wembanyama would have struggled to keep up with centers such as Howard, Shaquille O’Neal, or Moses Malone.
“But with that frame, guys like you, Shaq, Moses Malone heavy duties who will break him in half in the paint,” he said. “He’s just going to keep throwing the balls, you gonna foul him every time. I will be looking for somebody that size, 200 pounds and seven feet, I will murder him.”
Hence, Ball effectively believes that while Wembanyama has no need to put on weight or do anything differently, he would struggle physically in the paint if he had to play against physical centers of the previous era.
At the same time, Ball claimed that Wembanyama would simply end up getting fouled each time he would attack the paint if he were against someone like O’Neal.
While that may be physically difficult, it would also have worked out and allowed Wembanyama to score points via free throws instead. Hence, Ball simply wants the reigning Defensive Player of the Year to continue in the same vein and does not believe he needs to gain weight.
