NBA coaches are obviously convinced: San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is already one of the league’s very best players.
The reigning rookie of the year is an NBA All-Star for the first time, with the 21-year-old from France one of the 14 players announced Thursday night as members of the reserve pool for the midseason exhibition that will take place Feb. 16 at the home of the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
The 7-foot-4, 235-pound Wembanyama is the fourth San Antonio player to make the NBA All-Star Game in his first or second pro season. The others were Alvin Robertson in 1986, David Robinson in 1990 and 1991, and Tim Duncan in 1998.
“It’s just a testament to his first year and a half in this league and the work he put in prior to that and trusting the process of trying to get incrementally better, not skipping steps,” acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama last week in Paris, where he was asked about the former No. 1 draft pick’s All-Star chances. “And then, obviously, that allows the talent and unique skill set to shine through.”
Coaches select the reserves, doing so after the 10 names for the pool of starters were announced last week through a combination of fan voting (50%), media voting (25%) and active player voting (25%).