Spur of the Moment: NBA Legends on Attacking, Developing Victor Wembanyama

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May 24, 2026May 24, 2026By Admin
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Spur of the Moment: NBA Legends on Attacking, Developing Victor Wembanyama

NBA legends playing witness to Victor Wembanyama’s latest mastery spoke about his development and how they’d attack it.

In due time, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will no doubt be matched up in imaginary showdowns against the stars of the new century. Some in the latter department hinted that they’re glad such a situation will remain a hypothetical.

Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs v Oklahoma City Thunder
(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

“We could say all this stuff … that man covers so much ground that all these coaches have tried everything,” two-time NBA scoring champion and NBC Sports studio analyst Tracy McGrady said with a laugh when asked how he’d “attack” the newly-minted Defensive Player of the Year in a conference call hosted by the network this week. “… Really, the only consistent thing I’ve seen someone [do to] attack him is really having him involved in the play to where he helped that you can constantly get someone downtown, and he has to help from that corner, and then get that corner shot.

“But [the Spurs] are so quick on the perimeter that they can close out to those perimeter guys and run them off the three-point line. They tried everything, and sometimes it works, but a lot of times it doesn’t.”

Wemby: Must-See TV 

McGrady is one of the most prominent witnesses to Wembanyama’s latest breakout performance: the first NBA playoff journey of the lauded, well-rounded hardwood heralder has culminated in a Western Conference Finals date with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, which is being exclusively covered by NBC. 

While OKC leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, Wembanyama has been the undisputed headliner in the ongoing set: a 41-point, 24-rebound  output in Monday’s opener led to Oklahoma City’s first loss of its title defense and right now it stands as the one thing keeping them away from a potential sweep when the two sides reconvene on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock).

A box score like that has been reached only other time in a conference finals setting, as Charles Barkley posted it for the Phoenix Suns during their do-or-die clincher against Seattle in 1993. Wembanyama’s three from the cusp of the midcourt Thunder logo, one that forced a sixth period, further solidified the game as an instant classic and added to the early legend of the third-year “Alien.”

“I can’t believe what I witnessed,” an awed McGrady said. “I remember back in the 1999-2000 NBA Finals, watching Shaquille O’Neal live in-person on that scene, and I just couldn’t believe that domination. Fast forward to today, to have a guy with that kind of impact on the defensive end, in my lifetime, I’ve never seen [it]. This is the highest level of basketball we’re going to see. I’m glad I’m able to be a part of it and cover it.”

The Crawford Connection

McGrady is taking in Wembanyama’s antics from the relative safety of their study coverage table. His colleague Jamal Crawford, on the other hand, has one of the most coveted seats in sports, situated at the broadcast table to serve as a color commentator alongside Reggie Miller and play-by-play man Mike Tirico.

This is far from the first time that Crawford has had premium seating for Wembanyama’s exploits. The sixth man extraordinaire and two-decade NBA veteran has hardly hid from the hardwood since his 2022 retirement, becoming well-known for his Seattle-based clinics and training that have attracted amateur and pro talents alike. He worked with Wembanyama during the summer of 2024, less than a year after the Spurs made the French phenom the No. 1 pick of the prior draft.

“We studied Hakeem [Olajuwon], different guys, how they got to certain areas and different points on the court,” Crawford recalled. “It was for these times, kind of knowing where he was going and knowing the areas he needed to get to dominate at the highest level when the competition was the toughest. Not to give away too, too much, but those were some of the foundations and basics we did the week I was with him.”

“What I have seen first off working with him is how quick he can download things, things that took me years to learn,” Crawford said further of his week with Wembanyama. “I could tell him, and he could have it done in five minutes. Like I got it, and he’d go out and do it. It was almost like fake, to be honest with you.”

On its own, Wembanyama’s nearly-unprecedented build (7’4, 235 lbs. with an eight-foot wingspan) could be the only weapon he needs to showcase his dominance. Oklahoma City, however, is one of the few groups well-equipped to handle such a force, carrying the skyscraping Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. 

An extended outing from Hartenstein kept Wembanyama in relative check in Game 2, particularly through his preferred prowess of the paint. Wembanyama was a respectable 5-of-8 in the blue on Wednesday’s second game but that was relatively paltry compared to the opener, where he had 13 successful tries in the area alone, providing instant scoring responses to an OKC effort that enjoyed a career-best offensive outing from Alex Caruso. He was 8-of-15 in Game 3 but limited to four rebounds as San Antonio continued to deal with not only OKC depth breakouts from also a lingering injury to De’Aaron Fox.

But what has impressed Crawford further in Wembanyama’s work is an agility and athleticism that is more often featured in the former’s realm of the backcourt. Crawford pointed out Wembanyama’s “rhythm dribble” that helps him succeed against his interior contemporaries. In addition to paint legends like Olajuwon, Crawford mentioned that he and Wembanyama studied his NBC castmates McGrady and Carmelo Anthony, who joined him on the network’s call.

“The footwork transfers everywhere. You got Melo and T-Mac on the phone, and they had two of the best footwork guys ever. People see their scoring, but the footwork they use to get to their score, different angles and different spots, I see Victor use that as well.”

For his part, Anthony praised the way OKC got Wembanyama to bite on pick-and-rolls in Game 1 and said that such a continued prowess would help them get back to the Finals. Anthony echoed and noted Crawford’s work, noting that Wembanyama couldn’t be “allowed to sprint the court,” especially in one-on-one situations.

“I would like to see Wemby actually be put in the pick-and-rolls a lot of times too because he’s switching off on these guards, and he’s defending these guards,” Anthony, formerly of the Thunder, said of his own would-be strategy of going up against Wembanyama. “I want to see him get over this pick-and-roll, get through the screen, utilize him in those areas a lot more, break him out closer to, I don’t want to say halfcourt, but kind of that hash mark right there.”

“There’s just so many things, especially in Game 1, that OKC allowed him to do, which was just dominate the whole game. If you could alleviate a couple things—and I know it’s not easy to do—but if you could alleviate some of the offensive rebounds, some of those easy shots, then I think you could try to shut him down at that point.”

Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags

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