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The Warriors have agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract extension with Moses Moody. This is officially a bargain.

Happy Wembday!

What does year 2 look like for Wemby?

Victor Wembanyama’s second season in the NBA begins tonight. His first was historic and The Bounce basically celebrated everything Wemby-related last season. Guess what? We do it again this season. Wemby is the towering basketball force who convincingly answers the question: “Who will be next when LeBron, Steph and KD retire?” It’s the 20-year-old Frenchman, who stood at 7-foot-4 last year and this year was listed at 7 foot 3 and who we all know he is Strictly speaking 7-foot-5.

Using his stats, let’s put into context what could potentially be on the table for Wemby considering the historic season he enjoyed as a rookie. Everything we look up is after the NBA/ABA merger (1976-77) because Wilt Chamberlain’s stats wipe out everyone else’s accomplishments.

• Rating: Trae Young (29.6 in 2019-20) has the highest post-merger scoring average for a second-year player. He increased his average by 10.5 points since his rookie season. Wemby would need to increase his average (21.4) by 8.3 points per game to surpass Young’s mark. Can Chris Paul do it as his point guard?
• Rebounding: Shaquille O’Neal and Andre Drummond share this annual record with 13.2 rebounds per game each. In the 2013-14 season, Drummond nearly doubled his rookie season average (7.6) as he played nearly 12 more minutes per game in his second season. Shaq’s numbers are actually down from 13.9 as a rookie about 30 years ago. Wemby would need to add 2.7 rebounds per game to get past them.

I know what you’re asking. What about assists, blocks and steals, Zach? Could Wemby achieve the best second year averages here too? I am So I’m glad you asked. I have this here to highlight our new Thursday preview series that previews the weekend schedule.

I really don’t know if you can make unrealistic predictions about Wemby. It will be interesting to see how his efficiency and shot creation develop. There will be setbacks and areas of growth. There will be history. We just don’t know if it will get the Spurs, who finished 22-60 last season, anywhere near the play-in this season.

And that brings us to what I call the Surrender Station!

Here I ambushed two colleagues for their anti-Wemby agenda from a year ago. And by ambush I mean I sent everyone a question about whether it was wrong to doubt Wemby and they were kind enough to answer. Our two interested parties? My boys, James Edwards III and Jay King.

James, you had strong doubts about Wemby, saying he had flaws that had long been ignored in the hype-up process (July 7, 2023). What do you think about him going into second grade? JE3: I still think the narrative surrounding Wemby is a bit exaggerated, but he will be one of the best, if not the best, defensive players in the NBA this year. Veterans were afraid to attempt layups around the rookie, even if he was in the halfcourt. His versatility as a defender was immediately apparent.

I still wonder if he is a first class photographer. He shoots poorly and I don’t know if I believe in the jump shot yet. His slim build meant he could easily become unbalanced and doesn’t look much taller to me now. With Chris Paul in place, Wemby will be able to produce better quality shots this season. But I still think he’s one of the league’s leading scorers, just like Kevin Durant, for example.

Jay, you compared Wemby to Ante Žižić And “malnourished Andre Drummond.” Are you ready to welcome sophomore Wemby as your baller and savior?

Jay: My savior? Impossible. I cannot be saved. But in the spirit of complete transparency, I was merely trolling when I compared the best prospect since LeBron James to Ante Žižić. (Don’t tell the Spurs fans who are still tweeting these gems and thinking I’m serious. Their anger entertains me.)

I don’t know exactly what to expect from Wembanyama in his second season, but no outcome strikes me as outlandish. Could he average five blocks per game? Why not. I wouldn’t be impressed if he made the All-NBA first team and was named Defensive Player of the Year. He’ll make four or five plays a game that no one else in the history of basketball could make. The Spurs spent his rookie season experimenting with how to use him. Now you know how. This plane is just beginning to rise.

That’s not enough of a surrender from James and Jay for me. You have to make them pay, Victor!

The last 24

The NBA is investigating Joel Embiid’s absence?

Yesterday, leading up to the 76ers’ matchup with the Bucks, there was a lot of excitement about the league office investigating 76ers star Joel Embiid’s pending and as-yet-unresolved absences. We’ll break this down in more detail as more information becomes available. For now, I will say that it feels like the NBA is reminding us that its load management policies are on the rise. However, I’m not sure if it makes sense to use the man who can’t stay healthy as the examiner.

🎧 “The Athletic NBA Daily.” Today’s installment looks at whether Kevin Durant can lead the Suns deep into the playoffs and looks back at the first night of a full season this season. Listen here.

🏀 Dejounte Murray broke his hand. We’ll keep an eye on the Pelicans’ newest guard and his injury situation, but it looks like he’ll be out for a while.

🏀 James Wiseman might be cursed. The 2020 second overall pick has had difficult times in his young NBA career. Last night the 23-year-old left hospital with what appeared to be an unaffected calf injury. Hopefully it’s not his Achilles tendon.

📲 “You all need to be a little more proud of this All-Star Game.” President Barack Obama was on a podcast with Tyrese Haliburton and called on him and the NBA to try harder. Watch the clip.

📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Thunder at Nuggets (10 p.m. ET on TNT)! I promise you that this game will (eventually) decide the Western Conference.

📺 You shouldn’t miss this one either. Wolves at Kings (10 p.m. ET on League Pass). These are two teams already fighting for a top-six finish in the West.

📺 I’m telling you, tonight the plan is 🔥. Spurs at Mavericks (7:30 p.m. on TNT). Sophomore Wemby starts with Chris Paul in tow. The reigning West champion Mavs now have Klay Thompson. Buckle up!

📺 The “And I’m Dooneese!” game of the evening. Don’t miss the Celtics at the Wizards earlier this evening (7 p.m. ET on League Pass), as Boston could win by 70 points. Your reference point.

About last night

It was our first night back with a full NBA slate

Could you feel it last night? The overwhelming deluge of basketball games you’ve been trying to consume? Didn’t it feel great? We throw four games into League Pass’s multi-view, show the domestic games on a separate screen, and try to inject funny and insightful jokes into multiple group chats full of views and denials. We experienced the first full evening of the NBA season and it was wonderful. Everything about the night was fun except for the Pelicans and a few other shows that tried out camera shots like this:

Feeling a little motion sick? Like watching the movie Fallen where a demon spirit floats around trying to find a new body to possess while Denzel Washington summarizes what’s happening? Let’s stop doing this, NBA broadcasts! But the basketball was good! Here’s what you need to know about the evening:

Suns 116, Clippers 113: There was a moment in the third quarter when it felt like Houston was playing James Harden for the Clippers. The 35-year-old former MVP dropped 16 of his 29 points right after halftime and brought the Suns to a boil. Then Durant and Devin Booker brought Phoenix back in the fourth before Bradley Beal added the finishing touch in overtime. However, people love the new Clippers arena.

Pacemaker 115, piston 109: The Pistons looked like they would win, but then fell 33-19 in the fourth. It’s good to have them back where we left them (seriously, they looked much better).

Bucks 124, 76ers 109: No Embiid or Paul George for Philly, so Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points on 31 shots. Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 55 points, 23 rebounds and 13 assists.

Magic 116, Heat 97: Orlando ended it after halftime with a score of 39-18 in the third quarter. Paolo Banchero (21 years old) was dominant with 33 points and 11 rebounds. In his contract year, Jimmy Butler scored three points on 1-for-8 shooting.

Hawks 120, Nets 116: That was a fun game! Ben Simmons looked ok! Trae Young had 30 points and 12 dimes. Cam Thomas scored 36 points en route to this season’s scoring title. There was scrum and scrum and a blatant ejection from Nic Claxton.

Hornets 110, Rockets 105: Rookie trainer Charles Lee (39 years old) might be able to train a bit! LaMelo Ball had 34 and 11 while Tre Mann scored 24 off the bench to beat Houston.

Pelicans 123, Bulls 111: No Zion. No Trey Murphy III. Oh, and remember, Murray got hurt. However, this is not a problem for New Orleans.

Grizzlies 126, Jazz 124: The new Big Three Ja Morant (22 points, 10 assists), Desmond Bane (24) and Santi Aldama (27) took care of things.

Cavaliers 136, Raptors 106: Toronto, maybe start checking out Sam Vecenie’s Mock Draft.

Warrior 139, Blazer 104: Portland, you’ve already bookmarked this link. 👆

(Top photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images )