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Throughout the history of the National Basketball Association, one thing has almost always been true. The competition is exceptionally difficult - and especially so for rookies. Unless your name is Magic Johnson, the first year of your career portends struggle, heartbreak, and mistakes galore. But what the NBA has also taught its players is that the name of the game is professional resistance. It's what you do with those hard times that matters most. Fall, but get up. And when it comes to the two most hyped rookies of the 2023-2024 season - Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, who were selected first and third overall in the 2023 draft, respectively - the new season is proving to be a test of everything they have appreciated and were proud of it in the past.
Last week the teenagers met for the first time in the NBA. The match, which opened back-to-back matches for the Spurs and Blazers, also marked the first time the two rookies had faced off against each other since October 2022 in a then-acclaimed showcase that pitted Henderson's G-League team against Wembanyama's Metropolitans 92 team from the French top division. This time it was Wemby's San Antonio Spurs playing Henderson's Portland Trail Blazers in the City of Roses. While the teams are struggling at the bottom of the Western Conference, the game sheds light on the reality that last year's headlines won't quite carry over to this year. But under the leadership of championship coaches - Gregg Popovich for San Antonio and Chauncey Billups for Portland - the question remains: How will the rookies rise to the level of their decorated play-callers?
"Just try not to skip any steps - and coach," Popovich said when asked what it will take to build his roster and No. 1 pick into a winner ahead of Thursday night's game. "It's quite early in his career to start talking about what he needs to do - we're just now learning who he is."
"He's going to have a long career," Billups said of his own young star prior to Thursday's tipoff. "I just think his confidence in this process has grown tremendously. I feel like the game is slowing down for him. He understands what I want from him every day. He's starting to get to know his teammates' games a little better. And he studies more and more."
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While the two Towers still have a long road ahead of them, there is already a lot of praise for what they can do as young stars in the league. By remarkable dunks Unpleasant wonderful potential Unpleasant dazzling highlights, there is a reason why there is so much talk about both. "I'll be what I needed as the third pick in the draft at 20 years old," Billups, a former point guard and No. 3 pick, said said about the talented Henderson, who essentially replaced Blazer icon Damian Lillard this year after Dame was traded to Milwaukee. "I promised him that."
These days it seems like Wembanyama is a little further along than Henderson, but that could be because he possesses something coaches can't teach: incredible length. He also has great skills, the ability to dribble and shoot like a wing and the ability to stifle defenses around the basket that others like Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Adul-Jabbar have become known for. On Halloween night, Wemby dueled with all-timer Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, who emerged victorious for one of San Antonio's few wins this year. The next two teams game also featured a breakout achievement by Wemby. The matchup prompted Durant to call him a "unique" player. "He will be an important player in this league for a long time," he said.
In addition to his physical gifts, the Wembanyama coach praised his maturity. During a virtual press conference earlier in 2023, Pop praised what Wemby has at the top. "A lot of people have talent in this league," the Spurs coach said. "But I think the people who end up in superstar status have something that everyone else doesn't have and that's in their head." Popovich complimented the 7-foot-2 star's parents for raising their son well. "He's one of the most mature 19-year-olds I've ever seen," the five-time championship coach said. Still, Pop emphasized a wait-and-see attitude. He and his staff want to observe Wemby and take him along slowly, he said, while giving him the freedom to explore and make mistakes. "[Like] what's an opportune time for a three, and not," Pop pointed out.
In the week of the games in Portland, Wemby led his team in four of the five most important counting statistics: points, rebounds, blocks and steals. But the team's biggest problem is that it doesn't have a true point guard in the starting lineup, as no player on the team averages more than five assists per game. Wemby, who weighs 209 pounds, also needs to gain weight, some say. "He's clearly a generational player," former Spurs head coach Bob Hill told the Guardian. Hill should know; he coached former MVP center David Robinson in San Antonio in the mid-1990s. "[But] it will take some time [Wemby] to become a winner in the NBA. He needs to get bigger and stronger."
As for Henderson, his rookie year was full of fits and starts. While he scored a career-high 25 points on Thursday, he was also responsible for six goals in the game, which started with a 28-6 Spurs run in the first quarter. Henderson, who has only played in a portion of Portland's games, also spent a stint in the G-League. But he showed flashes this weekend of why he was so highly regarded. He's as fast as they come and physically as solid as a rock. But he can also be hesitant at times and he doesn't shoot the ball very well, especially around the hoop, hitting about 37% from the field. Wembanyama didn't help on Thursday, recording seven blocks, including several after Scoot's attempts.
It's also worth noting that Wemby and Henderson aren't the only two notable newcomers this year. Charlotte's Brandon Miller, the No. 2 pick in the last draft, is averaging about 15 points per game and Oklahoma City's star center Chet Holmgren, who sat out last year due to injury, is averaging better than 17 points and nearly three blocks and eight. rebounds per game in his first official year - on a winning team. But even more than those two, it was Wemby and Henderson who made the most headlines ahead of this NBA season. All eyes are on them.
On Thursday, the towering Wembanyama, who averages about 19 points per game, opened the game with a left hook shot that stunned Blazer fans. Before the game, many in the stands (especially children) shouted his name while holding handmade signs, hoping for his attention. After hitting the hook, Wemby quickly followed with a made three-pointer. But Scoot, who averages about 12 points per game, was also involved. He flew around for a steal and layup attempt that led to a big putback from a teammate in the opening minutes, pushing the ball wherever he could.
But the youth of both players was clearly visible in the opening stages, with Scoot missing a number of shots from close range and Wemby at times looking like a fawn in the field, all limbs and a youthful face on a swivel. However, the towering Frenchman showed a willingness to take the lead, running towards teammates for a helping hand as they lay on the ground. By the end of the game, Wemby scored 30 points, six rebounds, six assists and seven blocked shots in a record 24 minutes. And Scoot scored 25 points, three rebounds, four assists, a steal and six turnovers. The final score on Thursday was 118-105 Spurs.
But after the game, after most fans had left Portland's Moda Center, Henderson was back on the floor for about 45 minutes, practicing a variety of shots on his own, from jumpers to floaters, getting more and more reps on his home court. He made sure his touch around the rim was refined, which reflected his work ethic. And ahead of Friday night's match, the rising star guard told the Guardian he feels he has grown significantly since his debut some 20 games ago.
"I think just in terms of pace," the soft-spoken Henderson said of his improvement. "Use my albitites. My trust [is] still the same I guess, just more [of it]. I'm starting to feel more and more comfortable with the representatives.' And what might he look like to continue his progress? "Every game, then just watching film. Usually it's the same. So keep going and get better." Henderson, who could easily be mistaken for a Marvel superhero if put in any other context, says he "can fly [up court]speed, power, all that" have also made big leaps.
In Friday's match, Wembanyama was held out of the back-to-back by Spurs due to an ankle problem he suffered earlier in December. Coach Popovich says he is on a mandatory minutes restriction and won't be able to play back-to-back for a few weeks until the team takes another look at his foot. "He'd rather play," Pop acknowledged. Henderson, on the other hand, started Friday's game again (his seventh start of the year), with Portland's skilled guards Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe both out.
In the matchup, in which Billups said he hoped Henderson would limit his turnovers and said Scoot needed to "get the team off to a better start," the young point guard gave the ball away twice in the opening frame, but the Blazers remained closed finished with the Spurs in the first quarter, unlike the night before, the two teams finished tied at 29. Scoot scored six points in the first period and finished the game with 22, 11 assists, seven rebounds and four turnovers. In the end, the Trailblazers won a close game, 134-128, taking advantage of the big Frenchman's absence. But while fans didn't see Wemby and Scoot take the field together for the second time in a row on Friday, the two will play each other again on January 26 in Texas. And if their early bouts are any indication, their games will remain must-see TV for years to come.
