The opponent was outscored by 45.9 points on the court! Wenbanyama crushed the old and new top picks on both offense and defense!

Although there is a gap between the No. 1 picks in the draft, no one would have thought that Wenban Yama would completely defeat the two No. 1 picks of the Mavericks in the first game of the new season. He used his undifferentiated singles and closed defense to help the Spurs take off. This column will help you understand through in-depth data analysis.

The new No. 1 pick in 2025, Flagg, was extremely popular from before the draft to the start of the season. Even if it is lower than Wenbanyama, it is not inferior. Davis, the No. 1 pick in 2012, helped the Lakers win the championship early. Facing these two opponents, I believe it will be difficult for any inside player to perform better, but Bunyama defeated the two No. 1 picks with a perfect performance of 40 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. After this war, he became the one with the highest shooting percentage among players who scored more than 30 points.

Of course, Wenbanyama’s exaggeration in this battle is not only reflected in the basic data. His plus-minus value when he is on the court is 31, which means that the Spurs beat the Mavericks by 31 points when he is on the court. At the same time, his net efficiency when he is on the court reaches 4 5.9, which means that when Bunyama is on the court, the Spurs can beat the Mavericks by 45.9 points per 100 possessions. Both of these performances rank first among players who average more than 25 minutes per game. Bunyama not only has explosive basic data but also has an extremely significant role on the court.

So how did Wenbanyama achieve such an exaggerated effect on data? His biggest problem last season was his lack of strength and confrontation, which led to opponents often using their bodies to hold him up when he was holding the ball, forcing him to be unable to get close to the basket and only shoot from a long distance. However, after targeted training in the offseason, Wenban's strength has been greatly strengthened. At the same time, his touch is also relatively good in this battle. The combination of his height and wingspan allows him to get a good shooting space in any area. In this battle, he maintained a shooting rate above excellent in all areas on the offensive end.

In the direct confrontation with players, Wenban Yama directly crushed it. Looking at the offensive end first, Wenban Yama faced the most rounds and the most time in direct defense from Dongmei. However, Wenban faced Dongmei with a total of 7 sports games, hit 6 goals and scored 13 points; the second most faced Wenban was Lively, Wenban faced Lively with a total of 5 dribbles. Wenban made 4 shots and scored 11 points. Both Nongmei and Lively are players with excellent interior defense ability in recent seasons, but these two players directly became toys in front of Wenbanyama. It is also difficult for other players to get an advantage in front of Wenban. Wenban faced Klay Thompson twice and missed the goal in two shots, but it is difficult to say that it was Thompson who defended well enough rather than Wenban himself who failed to score.

Looking at the defensive end, Davis is still the one who spends the most time in direct confrontation on the defensive end of Wenban. However, Davis only hit two goals in 8 shots against Wenban's defense. Including two free throws, he scored a total of 6 points. When Lively faced Wenban's defense, he had almost no chance to take a shot and missed one shot. Flagg, who was also the No. 1 pick, only hit one goal in three attempts. In Wenbanyama's defense, the Mavericks only had PJ Washington with a decent shooting percentage but only one shot.

In direct confrontation defense, Wenban can be said to have completely frozen the opponent. For the center, assisting in defense is also crucial. In this battle, the Mavericks team shot only 28.6% on two-pointers when facing Wenban's defense, and even scored 0 of 3 three-pointers without scoring. These can all show the deterrence of Wenban's defensive end.

On the offensive end, there is no difference in singles, and on the defensive end, the team system is supported. Wenban Yama defeated the Mavericks' new and old No. 1 picks in one battle. Although the season has just begun, if Wenban maintains this state, the Spurs' peak recovery is just around the corner.