As the sixth man, Victor Vembanyama disrupts opponents

While LeBron James rested for this back-to-back, Victor Wembanyama was really out there after the previous day’s loss to the Grizzlies. Certainly, he was like the sixth man, and his time remained limited, but “Wemby” showed no signs of weakness against the Lakersand even became part of the team through his impact on rebounding and defense.

“It brings something different, that’s for sure.” he answers when asked if the opponents are more upset since he is the 6th man. “Especially tonight, it’s a team that shifts a lot – probably one of the most in the league – and also overloads a lot. In games like this, you have to understand that the shot isn’t always the ball.”

Another management limitation

Personally, is it difficult to manage this new 6th man status? In the past, superstars who have suffered the same fate have had difficulty entering during a match.

“It makes a huge difference. It’s not necessarily difficult, but it’s another constraint to manage, especially in terms of playing time.” he confirms. “There’s a lot of coordination between the medical and technical staff. I personally just want to get on the field. In a match like this, when I come in, I try to run, get rebounds, block… because that’s the role I’m supposed to play.”

“Every young team that starts to have a little success goes through moments like this”

In general, what did he think of this win, certainly against a very weakened Lakers, without the Reaves-LeBron duo.

“We did what we know how to do. We tried to follow the game plan. I think it shows in the result: they scored 91 points…” emphasizes Wembi. “It’s primarily a question of effort. We know it’s easier to concentrate on a match with so much at stake, but we have to manage to have the same level of participation in the other games. We have to find a way to achieve that.”

Many coaches dream of their players being so engaged, even against smaller opponents. For Vembanyama, it makes sense to have ups and downs. “I think it was inevitable. We didn’t want to go through the season without experiencing moments like this, we can’t be perfect in every game. In my opinion, this kind of situation had to happen. Now our goal is to reduce as much as possible the number of times it happens. And it will show what we are made of. Every young team that goes through a small success like this has a normal moment.”