Chris Mannix on Wemby

Mannix says the Spurs big man is just different.

Transcript

00:00You mentioned the profile issue for SI, you got the cover story, you worked on Victor Wembenyama,

00:05so what did you learn about Wemby, Chris, in writing that piece that maybe you didn't

00:10already know, and then how much better do you expect him and the Spurs to be this year?

00:14I'll be honest, he might be the most interesting person I've ever talked to,

00:18like not just in sports, ever talked to, like his mind is so multi-tracked and like he uses

00:26everything that he experiences as a way to improve himself, whether it's as a basketball

00:33player, as a person, like we spent the first 20 some odd minutes of our interview talking about

00:39fantasy novels, about Game of Thrones and The Witcher and Berserk, which is apparently a

00:46Japanese type of fantasy novel, and it wasn't just about like, hey, I really enjoy these novels,

00:55like, hey, character X, I learned something from him that I take into my everyday life,

01:01so he's a fascinating human being in general. As a basketball player, I think he's going to take

01:07a massive step forward this year. I believe that Victor Wembenyama will be the defensive

01:14player of the year. I don't think that's a stretch, he was the number two guy last year,

01:18I think this year, if he's healthy, he's going to be a runaway winner for number one. His defense

01:23is just so good, but I think overall, Spurs are competitive. I think you're going to see

01:29Wembenyama in that five to seven range in the MVP balloting. That's how good a year

01:35I think he's going to have. I think Chris Paul as the first, I wanted to give, Trey Jones was a real

01:40point guard, but Chris Paul as the first real point guard to start the season as his playmaker

01:46is going to make an enormous impact on the offensive end. I think Harrison Barnes being

01:50there is another veteran professional shooter that's going to make San Antonio better. I think

01:56they're going to be an improved team, and I think Wembenyama is going to have the kind of

02:00MVP caliber season, that's going to be a huge reason why.