The expectations from the San Antonio Spurs have changed this season. “Winning” was a word the talisman Victor Wembanyama often used during media day. Last season, they ended at the bottom tier of the West, not seeing much of an improvement with the generational rookie in their camp. However, Chris Paul’s addition is set to unleash the giant to a colossal extent. And Wemby himself wants to be more brutal. Physically, he weighed 25lbs heavier than last season.

Through the evidence available, in the past, the French center worked on unique aspects to keep his physique intact. There were a lot of agility drills and an aim to maximize his flexibility. The approach though seems to have switched to adding “core strength”. The Process though began way before the offseason came around. ESPN’s Michael Wright noted “he spent like two months right at the end of the season before going to the Olympics” to test out the productivity of adding strength.

During the competition, Wembanyama flourished, especially in the Finals. He stood against the entire star-fueled Team USA as the most destructive force on the court after Stephen Curry. Likewise, he didn’t waste any time. During the offseason, he gave notable emphasis on increasing strength. However, it wasn’t related to putting weight on his body.

In fact, in the past, his agent, Bouna Ndiaye claimed the team around him is “going to fight to not put weight on his body.” So even though heavier, Wembanayama’s didn’t focus on typically lifting weights to add pounds. Instead, he exemplified mastering the technical aspects of the game, and his strength was mainly related to his core.

Weight just came as a natural byproduct. However, it does have some glaring advantages. Understandably, it’s going to be tougher for any center to overpower Wembanyama as they did last season with the work on his core. And as Wright studied on Hoop Collective, “He said that by gaining strength it sort of allowed him to expand his game”.

Harnessing that, the Spurs are on track to improve drastically.

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are just getting started

As far as expectations for Year 2 go, Wembanyama isn’t filling into the media propaganda. “I don’t have any responsibilities to any of you,” he simply claims. However, in the locker room, he is hoping to be the transcending force that propels the Spurs to win. But is that possible within such a short span? Very much so.

The first reason relates directly to the ‘Point God’. A regular complaint last season was the Spurs’ inability to get the ball to Wemby in his ideal spaces. For a towering center, he only shot 46.5% from the floor. Among centers who played at least 24 minutes per game, the conversion rate ranks as the third lowest in the NBA.

It can be linked to Victor Wembanyama not having a certified floor general. But Chris Paul, a man with a history of improving franchises is a virtuoso at threading together an offense. Not only are his passes accurate, but he rarely makes mistakes, having a 5.17 assist-to-turnover ratio. Furthermore, with a lob threat looming, Paul’s ball-handling skills often bring out the most emphatic results. Just think back to Lob City.

The second reason is Victor Wembanyama himself. As he said, the emphasis is on perfecting the simplicity of basketball. Here’s a stat that will amaze you in that regard. In his rookie season, he shot the least efficiently when he was wide open and the best with a defender in his grill. Simply put, no center can virtually block Wembanyama close to the paint. The only person stopping it is his own technical prowess, which he has spent hours honing in the offseason.

The Olympic experience, with Pop claims, is much more aggressive and has helped Wembanyama reconfigure the concept of what ‘playing hard’ means. That’s among the chief reasons behind him adding strength to his arsenal/

The Spurs also have blasting perimeter scorers to surround the looming presence of Wemby. Keldon Johnson and Vassell in that regard had revolutionary seasons with the Spurs last year both averaging career-highs. With Paul, the offense grows fluent. Additionally, the young group has already begun learning from his varied experience.

“Just this week that we spent with him, practicing and running scrimmages, he’s just brought us a whole new view of the game,” the bolstering center proclaimed. Combine it with Gregg Popovich’s genius brain and the Spurs could see an upswing in success. How far they go is still undiscovered. But it sure seems like the trajectory will see them challenge the top teams and if not win, make it excruciating to beat their youth and grit.