Hakeem Olajuwon Teases Wemby's New Jump Hook Shot, 'You're at His Mercy'

Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon believes a new wrinkle in Victor Wembanyama's game will make the San Antonio Spurs big man even more unstoppable around the basket.

Like many young centers before him, Wembanyama sought the guidance of Olajuwon to help improve over the offseason.

"He basically wanted to know how to leverage. Let's leverage any opportunities you have, inside, outside, with opportunities in different situations without wasting energy," Olajuwon said to ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "I know how skilled he is. So, our concept was not for 'big men.' Our concept was 'big guards.'

"You don't want to dribble like a big man. We are big guards where you can play 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 with the freedom to create outside, inside, crossover and pull up without wasting any energy with any player because you have the advantage every night on everybody."

According to Wright, Wembanyama refined his offensive repertoire and added a jump hook he's not ready to unveil just yet. Olajuwon pointed out how the 21-year-old, who's now standing 7'5", would basically be unguardable if he can consistently knock that down.

"You know how well he can shoot, right? Can you imagine putting in the moves with him finishing his shots? If somebody like him can jump hook, you're at his mercy," Olajuwon said. "You can't get to it. You can't get to his jump shot or jump hooks."

This is part of what made Kareem Abdul-Jabbar one of the NBA's greatest scorers. When he got into position for his patented sky hook, a defense's only options were hoping he misses or fouling him.

NBA.com's Shaun Powell explained in 2023 why the sky hook had fallen out of vogue despite being so devastatingly effective. Modern centers are playing further away from the basket, and they're simply not learning a wide array of inside moves from a young age.

Coincidentally, Powell referenced Wembanyama as part of that wider trend: "Each time Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 French teenager projected as the next great big man, dribbles between his legs and shoots a fadeaway 3-pointer as an entire league gushes, the sky hook sinks another foot in the grave."

The three-pointer is bound to remain part of Wembanyama's arsenal. In his second year in the NBA, he averaged 3.1 makes per game from the perimeter at a 35.2 percent clip.

The Spurs would be foolish not to have Wemby launch from deep.

If he does manage to deploy a jump hook to great effect, though, it could have a big effect on not just his scoring but how other centers attack the mid-range.