Victor Wembanyama On Watching Jokic and Striving To Be A Selfless Superstar 

just 19 years old, yet seems to be very mature for his age. i also think him and Spurs are a great match. let's hope he will be unaffected by the high pressure of expectations and stays healthy.

Bring on the next season already! Can't wait to see this kid on the court

Hoping that no injury sets him back. It's amazing watching the NBA change styles again. The no defense super team model turned a lot of fans off. Watching Joker has been exciting.

Smart guy watching Jokic

Basketball in Europe is approached the same way as Football. The concept of "if someone else has a better opportunity to score, pass to them". Also most Europeans play football first, then basketball next. Footwork, team work and court vision is developed.

It's like they sat him on a kids chair 😂😂😂

In Europe your team are kick out the league when you are in the bottom of the ranking. It's call Relegation (like in football). So no tanking and you have to win if you want to keep your team alive.

In my opinion a lot of the guys who play overseas in the professional leagues from a young age (i.e. Luka, Jokic, Giannis) these guys learn the fundamentals of basketball and team basketball whereas I feel like AAU teams are just a group of the most talented kids in the area all trying to kid of carve out a name for themselves so instead of learning fundamentals they learn how to leverage their supreme athletic ability for example.

Jokic the goat

Hope he doesn't get injured, really excited to see him play...

Looks like a humble guy, hopefully he won't be spoiled.

even culturally in America we lack communities. We live a very individualistic and competitive lifestyle which is not really condusive to a harmonic society. In Europe there seems to be more of a sense of community and togetherness as well as wholistic identity. I think this allows for players to see someone see their teams success as their own rather than Americans who fear being being lesser as it is not capitalistic for them to be lesser.

American and Canadian kids take basketball for granted. They don't appreciate the game. They want what basketball will bring to you when you work hard but with out the work. European players play the game because they love the game

"San Antonio had one of those [selfless stars]." San Antonio had four. D-Rob, Duncan, Manu, and Tony. Three if you just wanna count superstars. Duncan set the tone for the post-Robinson years, for sure, but let's not pretend like David Robinson didn't willingly take a back seat for the sake of Timmy's development and for winning even though he was still a superstar. Even to the end of his career, he had some excellent advanced stats. During their first championship run, he had better BPM and RPM than Duncan, and in his last season, he was still top 30 in the league in RPM and top 50 in BPM. But he just wanted to win, so none of those things mattered to him either. I hope Wemby had a great conversation with Timmy, David, Manu, (and Sean Elliott) at that dinner. As a David Robinson apologist and fan, I couldn't let that one slide 😁 Edit: I don't know Kawhi's style and personality well enough to say whether he continued that trend, so I didn't think of him until just now. That said, you could say there was a fourth Spurs superstar who just wanted to win. Obviously he left under rather acrimonious circumstances, but considering his near-constant injury woes that may be indicative of some truth to his side of the story and his completely understandable desire to play in his hometown, I think it's warranted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I hope he can stay healthy for a few more title runs.

Yep, European players work more for the team. Pau Gasol was a great example of that.

He seems like he has already got the right head on his shoulders so I’m excited to see how his unicorn build will translate to the association

JJ - love your takes on basketball, and I am glad now to be a subscriber. Keep telling the truth of this beautiful game.

The European system is different. It’s based on the European football model of academies. All the famous football teams - Barca, Real, Milan - are sporting clubs with multiple sports, number one is football but basketball is number two. So these kids go there at 14, leave their families, are fully under the coaching and tutelage of professional coaches. It’s just total co plate immersion into basketball their way.

The way basketball is played in Europe doesn't allow stardom, or so to say the system doesn't need a player to be a scorer or a star. It matters if one is a great asset for a team, whatever the role is. As you enroll into youth academies where your talent is already known and you can develop there for the coming 5-8 years you can solely focus on how to be a good teammate and improve your own game, so you can win games WITH your team. Plus, what wemby said: as he was the best player, he moved up a team in age, so he always had to be humble and fight for his spot. Luka, Jokic, Dirk, Petrovic and Giannis had similar paths to the NBA where the had never been the best player of their team, up till the last year they played in Europe or when they got to the NBA, as they always played with older guys or mature pro's. Whereas in the states you need to stand out at 13 to play AAU, you need to be the star in High School with more striking stats in order to get a scholarship and then again need to be the most dominant guy of your team to get drafted. Instead of learning to win with your team. Cheers from Europe.

There’s a reason why people who enjoy true team basketball rather than entertainment prefer watching euro league. A lot more team play and less hero ball. Not to shy away from the fact the NBA still has the greatest basketball players in the world.

OK, JJ, you have a lot of thoughts and opinions - and I almost always agree with you. But you talk too much when you are asking questions - and that leads to suggesting and promoting your own narrative, rather than allowing the conversation to develop in a more organic flow - you have a quick mind - so you should trust your ability to adapt to whatever your guest's response - (but I'll keep watching either way, sir.)

He's going to make mistakes bc he's 19 but he does not sound like any 19 yr old I've ever known. He seems so emotionally mature

I wish Him the best

Watched this at 1.5 speed. Thank GOODNESS

My guy quoted Spidey, he's gonna be juuust fine

Tim Duncan is American but he’s from the Virgin Islands. So it really is a different place and I wonder how much that influences his style of play

Jokic like Wemby is a complete player

Long as he gets in the gym and builds his body a bit better and avoids injuries I think he will be great. Injuries is his biggest thing he needs to try and avoid

I find it ironic jordan picks this year to sell. I think he is passing the torch. If you look at tape of this guy, there should be no reason outside of injury that he isn’t better than 2-10. We will see how dominant he can be. And how many chips he can rack up. But this isn’t a spoiled American kid wearing money around his neck, and wearing a glittering red suit. He is down to earth, has his head on straight. He’s the real deal.

I like his mindset

Great show. I just subscribed ❤

Young fella out here quoting Spider Man

With great talent come great responsabilities

Basically, JJ was getting at: "Wemby, when are the tats and earrings coming?"

Letz wait and see..

You are talking about two different systems. Ex Yugoslavia and rest of the Europe. Being selfless is Yugoslav type of basketball, while rest of the Europe is closer to USA game type

Victor Joker is model.be inteligent and selfless and hard worker.do only good things.you will make not tripledouble but 4double

I think the reason why many unselfish superstars are europeans lies in the way, they are trained in their late teens. In the US, you play highschool and college and the whole time, you are the five star recruit among teammates that clearly will never make it to the NBA. That shapes you to be more ball dominant and selfish. In europe, you are thrown into a team of grown men that try to compete in their local league and regardless of how talented you are, you start out as the kid carrying the balls. At the same time, the playstyle is much more "pass first". I think that both those factors tend to shape players into becoming a more selfless superstar. Interestingly, Luca Doncic is probably the most "selfish" european superstar and he is closest to being treated as the superstar talent from a very young age like american top prospects are.

All the ingredients are there. I hope he avoids injuries.

Nice!

Can we just fast forward to the fall of 2023 already? I miss the NBA and the season ended a couple weeks ago and I definitely can't wait for the NFL season too...

Every like on this comment = A prayer this kid has a healthy career!

Welcome to 2023, the Goat prospect is quoting Peter Parker. Let's go

JJ your question on culture was pandering. On the one hand we celebrate the dawgs of MJ and Kobe and in the same breath we want superstars like Jokic. Europe has its share of me first superstars...look at football. Question is what is the differnce between baskball and soccer for European players.

Dope

The insinuation that Euro culture has something to do with selfless basketball was poorly crafted and factually incorrect. You can make an argument that the fundamentals of the game are being taught better in Europe but over the course of last 20 years we've had many, many, so called "selfless" American superstars. And frankly I'm not really sure what that even means. Were Kareem, Jordan, Barkley, Isiah, Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, Garrett, Wade, Curry, Durant, Lebron, etc selfish players? Jordan and Kobe were pure scorers, that doesn’t make them selfish players. Shaq could physically dominate a game by scoring inside vs any single cover or most doubles. It doesn’t make him selfish to shred dudes and throw down hammer dunks. The question and insinuation by Reddick is inordinately stupid.

The culture in america is needless pride before you achieve anything ..me me me

JJ looks like a little boy who can sit on the unicorns legs 😂🦄

You two look like kids next to Wemby :D I'm certain I'm the first one to point that out :D Cheers

Hope he doesn’t end up like Chet Holmgren, they have similar builds.

Calling Luka a selfless superstar is crazy

JJ looks very comfortable with his crossed legs & starbucks lol.

In no particular order...Selfishness... Tony Parker, Manu, Tim Duncan, Steph. There many others of course. Bird and Magic come to mind of course. I always loved watching Bobby Hurley play. And many others. You can sense selfish in players. But I do not blame them for that. It was usually coached into them and you have to do your job. Was MJ selfish? Yes, but he had to be. It was his job. Nikola and Giannis are fabulous. I cannot wait to see more of Victor.

anthony edwards can post up this stick 🤣

One injury away from being like AD . Hes very humble i hope he goes far

Interesting point Victor made. He was always the youngest player. Makes sense since he played with grown men and you have to share the ball more in those situations it seems like

Damn, French people really does move their hands a lot when they talk.

A speech by then Under-Secretary of the British Colonial Commissariat, Winston Churchill, in 1906: “Where there is great power there is great responsibility..."

I don't know man...the way he carry himself at 19... talking about influencing people and shit...I've got a weird feeling about him.

What he's saying here is a huge green flag. He shows maturity, drive and selfless. The fact he said he watched giannis is a good tell that he might try to become a paint beast like Giannis, Which would make him the best player to ever play. Add his paint defense, jokic playmaking and post game, amd sprinkle a bit of kd jumpshot. Wow.

Luka ?

JJ, Steph isn’t european

I hope he gains some weight to take the punishment of the NBA Season and the size difference to NCAA. But hes got the talent for sure.

y’all needa get these hoopers some better chairs

I really like this kid. I hope the Spurs give him time to mature physically.

Wemby gotta be "down to earth "dik wise too, no way this dude is not at least 12 inches

Those legs not going to make it 20 games

JJ is 6 4 200 something pounds proly and he looks like a gnom next to wembz lol

Curry isn’t European JJ 😂

Culture in America is all about ME. Culture in Europe etc is TEAM first.

Europeans start with soccer before basketball. Soccer is a pass first minded sport.

Lebron is the reason why these guys are selfless. He set the tone coming from lebron kobe culture

hes too tall too skinny .....I give him 5 years at most I like his humility but once he starts getting hard fouled I'm concerned he will suffer multiple injuries. good luck to him.....Jokic gonna own this kid

Look, basketball was a team sport until the rulers of the game decided to market Michael Jordan by allowing him to break every rule that limited personal offense, creating the selfish player model. Then it got worse under Shaq. It’s still bad, the way they let big men shove smaller men out of their way….including Jokic. Basketball is always at its best when the team element is highlighted…Cousy /Russell. Magic/Kareem, Bird/ McHale Duncan and his teammates

Curry is not a selfless person I’ll tell you that now and i don’t know him but his actions when his teammates shoot shot they thought they could make he wouldn’t throw his mouth piece 😂

Imagine this dude develops a sky hook shot like Abduljabbar. It’s over for the league at that point

The selfless star comment is super stupid and perpetuating stereotypes. First off, what does he even mean? All those players he named are ball dominant, even the ones who get assists. Is he talking outward confidence? Luka is big trash talker. I've seen players that act like Joker and get nothing but hate from the media. Kevin Durant made the comment Wemby just made about forcing shots when the Clippers were throwing double teams at him. We told Lebron he need to be more like Jordan for 2 decades. Simply because he passes too much. You have every personality type in the NBA and every type is OK. People are varied.

Wemb, selfless? 😂😂 If you look at his highlights, he's far from a selfless player. It'll have to take Coach Pop' to get that into his head.

I wonder what he really sounds like behind that anonymous voice distortion.

He still wet by the ears curry is the best to watch

JJ needs to shut up! 🤦🏾‍♂ Regardless, asking a star to be "selfless" is a very suspicious request. These teams don't care about anything but their bank accounts, a "selfless star" is more money for them. Being selfless with your team is great, but that's personal. No one should be asking that of you. Being selfless with the people who pay you is just foolish.

In Europe we are raised by parents not social media.

He said luka is a selfless player😂😂😂

First

I’d love to come onto this show and just destroy JJ with my basketball knowledge

Luka doesnt make teammates better so hes aint a selfless player. Giannis and jokic are

Europeans are just raised better and have better life values. Evan NBA shows how rotten USA is from inside.

The NBA is horrible. Just a 3 pt shooting contest with no fundamentals or D. Jokic would be an average player in another era. Anyone can get a podcast. JJ had all his teammates set picks for him to get open. How many years in league not being able to create a shot off the dribble and couldnt guard a WNBA player. Yawn

Reddick is not 6'4", He is 6' maybe 6'1".

Europe > America. They’re already better than Americans and this isn’t even their favorite sport. 😭

We shall see, in this interview what I enjoy. He seems to be very down to earth that by itself will likely take him far. Jokic has redefined the point center position forever. Steph Curry opened up the floor now the big man is gonna have to learn how to drive a tank right down the middle of that floor and be a much much better passer than LeBron was I would say LeBron was just a decent passer compared to Bird magic, and now Jokic. if Victor will learn how to always be looking at the floor as a chess match he’ll be unstoppable, LeBron James Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan. They had to touch the ball and thus froze their teammates out. What is noticeable about the Denver Nuggets championship is that several of the players were copying the passes of Nikola, it made them unstoppable, so Victor copy what they’re doing and all the people that tell you you need to bulk up and you need to do this and you didn’t need to do that work on your passing and then develop a skyhook and a baby skyhook and you will become Kareem magic bird all in one…