Victor Wembanyama is a patient man.
Whether in the way he slithers toward the basket to swat a shot away or the big sighs he takes before answering questions from the media, Wembanyama is deliberate in how he works.
The same can be said of his approach at the free-throw line, where he scored 13 of his game-high 41 points in the Spurs’ road win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night.
Wembanyama’s process at the free-throw line is so deliberate, in fact, that NBC game analyst Reggie Miller believes it could be breaking an NBA rule. During a trip to the line late in the third quarter of Game 1, Miller drew attention to Wembanyama’s potential infraction of the rule requiring players to release a free-throw attempt within 10 seconds of receiving the ball from the referee.
“Somewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo is saying, ‘Wait a minute!'” Miller quipped. “Every time Wemby goes to the free-throw line, it’s very close and borderline to 10 seconds.”
The rule became ingrained in NBA fans’ minds during Giannis Antetokounmpo’s prime, as the Milwaukee star pushed the envelope on just about every free-throw he took and was occasionally called for a violation by the officials. Fans in opposing arenas even began to count down from 10 whenever Antetokounmpo was at the line to draw attention to it.
NBC announcer Mike Tirico added that the long wind-up has been a pattern throughout the playoffs, though Wembanyama did not get called for a violation on either of the free-throws after Miller noted it.
During Antetokounmpo’s championship run in 2021, the issue became a dominant part of every game. So far, Wembanyama has avoided such scrutiny, though Miller calling attention to it on the national broadcast could change that.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.