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“A More Skillful Kevin Durant”: Chandler Parsons Gives Victor Wembanyama Comparison While Critiquing His Shot Selection

Posted on December 5, 2024 - 7:16 am by

Finding a comparison for a player as unique as Victor Wembanyama is a tall task. Kevin Durant is a name that gets brought up quite frequently and in certain aspects, rightfully so. Their physiques match up quite well next to each other and the way the Spurs staff is utilizing him on the perimeter, it’s safe to say Coach Pop and his crew have been watching more ‘Slim Reaper’ tape than usual.

So, it’s no surprise to see the two seven-foot bucket-getters constantly compared by analysts and fans alike. Following the Spurs’ contest with the Phoenix Suns, which pitted young Wemby against the aging Durant, there were bound to be discussions surrounding the pair.

On FanDuel TV’s Run It Up, when discussing the second-year center’s performance against the Suns, highlighted by a dreadful 1-9 mark from three, co-host and former NBA wing Chandler Parsons was quick to come to Wembanyama’s defense. He emphasized that while many want and would expect the 7-foot-3 behemoth to utilize his skillset more inside the arc, that’s not the type of player he is.



“When you look at a guy like [Wemby] and his size, would you like to see him be more dominant down low and get to the free throw line more? Yes. But he’s a capable shooter, can obviously stretch the floor, the way he plays the two-man game…” Parsons debated with his co-host.

The retired NBA veteran continued to support the 20-year-old, not only comparing him to KD, but claiming that Wemby possesses a superior skillset to the 12-time All-Star.  “His body type, he’s not like this banging five-man. He’s a more skillful Kevin Durant. We’ve never really seen someone like him. This is what he does, he can do everything on the court.” Parsons went on.

While it’s clear Wemby is trusting his strengths, Lou Williams is one who believes that he must start utilizing more of the court on offense. As a whole, Williams, who was best as a mid-range scorer during his NBA career, is disappointed with the league’s massive shift to three-pointers. That includes Wembanyama, who Williams pointed out had plenty of room to take advantage of the space the defense allowed him at the three-point line.

“I’ve been super critical of where the NBA is going with so many threes. Teams shooting 40 to 50 threes a night. I just watched four straight clips, there wasn’t a guy five feet within Victor Wembanyama when he’s at the 3-point line. You gotta take what the defensive gives you.” Williams shared.



Victor Wembanyama has massively improved his shooting accuracy this year

Wemby may have had an off night against Phoenix, but there’s a reason the Frenchman has been hoisting shots from deep at a historic level for someone his size. With 9.2 3PA per game so far this season, Wemby is nearly doubling his attempts from last season (5.5) while still modestly improving his efficiency from 32.5% to 33.7%.

He doesn’t knock down an elite percentage of them just yet, but the Spurs apparently trust his shot-making abilities enough to design perimeter-based plays for the big man. Wembanyama is currently attempting the most threes per game of any player over 7-foot in NBA history

There have been complaints from pundits regarding  the lack of diversity in his shot diet. He is nowhere close to being in the top 10 when it comes to FGs attempted within 5 feet of the basket but out of the 5 that he does average per game, he’s knocking down a whopping 76.7%. So, while he does need to focus on balancing out his attempts from within half-court, don’t expect the threes to go away anytime soon.