One giant stared down another at the top of the key as the Spurs clung to a late one-score lead at New Orleans back on April 5. Gears were spinning in Victor Wembanyama’s head amid the glaring, a plan formulating as burly Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas crouched into position and unfurled his full 7-foot-6 wingspan.
A couple seconds ticked away, then Wembanyama made his move. The rookie dribbled once toward the arc, used a short leftward step-back to create space and flicked a 27-foot 3-pointer. The shot dropped through the net to put the Spurs up 105-99, a critical moment in an eventual 111-109 win over a Pelicans team fighting to avoid the play-in tournament.
Wembanyama’s defensive ferocity and interior lethality often get top billing when anyone discusses the presumptive rookie of the year, and rightfully so. The step-back jumper is more subtle, unleashed sparingly, yet it is arguably the 20-year-old star’s most devastating offensive weapon.
Of all the players who attempted at least 50 step-back 3s during the regular season, Wembanyama ranked first in field goal percentage (46.2%). That is a staggering statistic, and not just because he shot only 30% on all other tries from deep.
James Harden, who won three scoring titles in part due to his mastery of the step-back jumper, shot just 36.8% (70 of 190) on such attempts this season. Damian Lillard (42.3%), Stephen Curry (40.2%), Luca Doncic (40.1%) and Devin Booker (36.4%) — some of this era’s greatest shooters — all lagged behind Wembanyama, too.
Each of those All-NBA guards launches a much higher volume of those shots than Wembanyama, with Doncic alone attempting 421 this season, per NBA.com tracking data. But compared to the league’s other skyscrapers, the 7-3 Frenchman is a striking aberration.
Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl Anthony-Towns and Chet Holmgren — all excellent shooters listed at 6-11 or taller — combined to hit 18 step-back 3s this season. Wembanyama knocked down 24 himself.
Even with all the multifacted “unicorn” bigs roaming NBA courts today, defenders haven’t seen such a towering player make these kinds of shots at a consistent rate. And the key to Wembanyama’s success, besides supreme confidence, has been working out just when to unleash the step-back.
“He’s obviously an all-around talented player,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in March. “He has a great feel for the game and it shows in a variety of ways.”
Efficient as he was, Wembanyama was smart enough not to become over-reliant on a tricky shot that could serve as a bail-out for opposing defenses. More often than not the step-back was deployed when a defender had dropped his guard or sagged toward the paint to prevent a look at the rim, where Wembanyama converted at a 67.1% clip.
It’s a potent tool that has thus far been used in moderation, one unlikely to be utilized to anywhere near the level of Doncic or Harden, even as he becomes an improved shooter. But the mere threat of Wembanyama popping a surprise step-back jumper will give defenders even more to fret about in the coming years.
As Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili said after Wembanyama capped his season with 34 points, 12 rebounds and five 3-pointers in a 121-120 win over the Nuggets, “even the sky’s not a limit. He’s an alien.”
