Collet asks for patience with Wembanyama: “He has only been in the NBA for a few weeks”

The French coach believes that there are things in which the center has to improve: “What is a little disappointing to me is his shooting percentage. Not good”.

ADAM DAVISEFE

“Eight losses in a row (now there are nine). It’s not just your thing, it’s a team thing. We have to have perspective because we are at the beginning of the NBA season. And the truth is that he is averaging almost 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

If you look at just those statistical data, it is something very consistent for his first year in the NBA. But for those of us who know him and know the expectations that surround him, he has to continue growing.”

Vincent Collet (60 years old), the France coach since 2009) is one of the most authoritative voices to talk about Victor Wembanyama, whom he coached last season (he was expressly signed for that) at Metropolitans 92 and who he will coach, if Nothing very strange happens, in the next Olympic Games (in Paris, precisely, in which Wemby (19 years old) will make (again: if nothing very strange happens) his debut in the first level of FIBA teams.

Collet is following with great attention, of course, the debut in the NBA of the new great French… and world star, a Wembanyama whose ceiling is that of a player who can transform basketball.

But the beginnings are not usually easy, and the San Antonio Spurs (the team that gave him a very high number 1 in the last draft) is 3-11 and is the worst team in the West with that losing streak that is now nine in a row. Wemby averages 18.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks.

Very good numbers for a rookie, of course, but with some shadows at the beginning of the year: 3.6 losses per night and very poor shooting percentages: 42.4% in field goals, 26.9% in triples.

At the ‘NBA Extra Show’ in France, Collet assessed this beginning of his ex-pupil in the United States:

“What is a little disappointing to me is his shooting percentage. For me, it is not good if we talk about a player like him. There are several factors, one of them being how the passes from his teammates reach him.

He should receive in easier basket positions, that would improve his percentages. I see LeBron, who is at 58% shooting. To Kevin Durant, who also shoots a lot from distance and is at 52%.

There he has a lot of room for improvement. I think he will balance out. Decision making is crucial, choosing better shots multiplies the options of making them. In those things he has to improve.”

But Collet goes further and points to other problems that are appearing in recent games.

“There is also the connection with his colleagues. Against the Sacramento Kings he shot 26 times and didn’t have a single assist. That’s embarrassing. But you have to be patient, they are only a few weeks into the NBA season.

If you forget about those stats on offense, his impact on defense is evident. The Spurs’ defensive level is totally different when he is on the court. The same thing happened at Metropolitans 92 last season, his dominance was much more noticeable in the defensive area.

We are always fascinated by his ability, in each game there are two or three plays that make us change our perception of what is happening. But it’s on defense where he really shines. If you have to compare him with Chet Holmgren, there is a difference in level between the two.”

It is true that Wembanyama seems to play too far from the rim, managing possessions on the outside a lot, although a priori it is near the rim where he is totally unstoppable.

The Spurs do not have a top-level point guard and in fact they are trying a forward like Jeremy Sochan, whom Gregg Popovich has insisted on turning into a playmaker.

With very discreet results for now. The Texans are disorganized, especially in the final quarters, and have already won four games in which they had amassed leads of at least 17 points. The peaks of Wembanyama are dazzling, and the height of it remains endless.

But he is lacking efficiency and consistency in a team that he does not help either, still very far from being a competitive block at the NBA level.

For this reason, and in the comparison that Collet suggests, for now the favorite for Rookie of the Year is Chet Holmgren, the exceptional Thunder center who was number 2 in the draft in 2022 but missed his first full season due to an injury. on one foot