"I wouldn't worry too much about that" - Boris Diaw is confident Victor Wembanyama will excel despite his biggest flaw

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is one of the greatest spectacles in the NBA over the last two years. Save the missed games due to injuries, the French phenom has proven why analysts have called him the next big thing.

Standing 7’3″, the former first-overall pick could do the traditional duties of a center, like rebounding and blocking. He could also be a point guard who brings the ball up the court and swishes a 3-pointer from the logo. Victor’s fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw is in awe of his play, and likened him to a melting pot of all the special NBA talent we’ve seen throughout the years.

“We’ve seen him in different people. You have athletic guys, you have guys that could shoot, that could dribble — all in one guy. That’s something different. The dexterity he has doesn’t even make sense for his size,” Diaw said, per the Legends of Sport podcast.

“He’s the player with the most potential we’ve ever seen. The big question is how far will his potential take him? Nobody knows right now.”

Like Durant?

Amid all his impressive feats on the floor, armchair athletic trainers and analysts continuously point out how Victor needs to add more muscle to his frame. They complain about how Wembanyama seems to get bullied down the block by bulkier players. Given his towering 7’3″ height, spectators feel he should add muscle to bully people in the paint rather than settling for 3-pointers, even though he’s more than capable of sinking them.

However, Diaw doesn’t feel adding more heft is necessary. As someone who has played against players built like Wemby, Boris knows that behind that lanky frame is a strong man. Besides, Diaw’s trained basketball eye has seen the Spurs center muscle his way against other players.

“He’s strong. He’s like Durant,” Diaw noted. “He’s skinny, but he’s strong. It’s the same kind of build. He’s strong. You see him falling and getting back up right away and pushing around people as well. I wouldn’t worry too much about that.”

Different vision

Like Diaw, Wemby’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, isn’t too concerned about the big guy’s skinny figure. The 2025 All-Star’s just 21, which means he’s still growing into his own body. Rather than enter a weight training program to add muscle, the right way is to add those pounds naturally.

“The weight will come over time, you know, but the focus on weight is — it’s a mistake. I’m 100 percent sure on that. If you put too much weight too quickly on Victor’s body — it’s not going to last. For sure. He will be injury-prone,” Ndiaye said in 2023.

Ndiaye, who has represented numerous French stars, including Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier, also shared that Wemby is backed up by a team of experts who have built a customized program for him.

“This is something that you have to work on. And we have been setting up a special program on Victor, on his feet these past three years. We have been working very specifically on his body to make him safer, and with a different approach.”

Fans seem keen on seeing the reincarnation of Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, or Dwight Howard in Wembanyama. They want the 2024 Rookie of the Year to punish his foes on offense using his colossal strength. However, this isn’t Wemby’s vision for himself.

“I don’t see myself becoming, like, a really, really big guy,” Wembanyama said.

The past two seasons aren’t enough to fully paint a comprehensive portrait of Wemby as an elite basketball player. Only time will tell how the Frenchman will evolve. Let’s keep our eyes peeled for the young stud’s journey to greatness.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that” – Boris Diaw is confident Victor Wembanyama will excel despite his biggest flaw

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