Carmelo Anthony Says Wemby Didn't Show 'Any Developed Skill Sets' in Spurs' NBA Opener vs. Thunder

After Victor Wembanyama recorded arguably the worst offensive game of his NBA career in the San Antonio Spurs' season-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a Basketball Hall of Famer is asking what he worked on in the offseason.

On the latest episode of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast (starts at 38:59 mark), Anthony pointed out he didn't see "any developed skill sets" from Wembanyama after watching him shoot 1-of-13 from the field against the Thunder:

"What have you worked on skill set-wise?… Again, this his first game, but in that first game, I didn't see any developed skill sets. I saw what he was trying to do. He was trying to get to the elbow, trying to get to the mid-post face-ups. I see that, but the skill set, I'm waiting to see that. That's what my eye going to be on this year for Wemby."

In the aftermath of the Spurs' loss in the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks, The Athletic's Jared Weiss wrote about Wembanyama's offseason and aspects of his game he worked on.

One of them included a highlight from the Spurs showing Wembanyama doing the "Dirk Fade," a reference to the one-legged jumper made famous by Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.

"It's an important step in one of his main offseason training priorities: developing a more robust post game," Weiss wrote, adding Wembanyama also worked with Hakeem Olajuwon for the second straight summer.

When you make only one of 13 shots, it's going to be eye-opening. But perhaps the most jarring part of that stat line is that Wembanyama was 1-of-6 in the paint.

Thunder-Spurs Highlights

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With the Spurs trying out a new three-guard lineup featuring Dylan Harper, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle that will take time to gel, Wembanyama was supposed to be the stabilizing force for the offense.

Instead, Wembanyama looked like part of the problem for the Spurs on that end of the floor. It's only one game against arguably the best defensive team in the NBA, so the panic meter shouldn't be high right now.

However, since Wembanyama has made it no secret he wants to be viewed as the face of the NBA and a global superstar, there's going to be more scrutiny on you for games like this against the team viewed as your biggest rival.

As long as Wembanyama uses that game as a learning experience and corrects what wasn't working, this will be a blip on the radar. If his shot still doesn't fall on Friday when the Spurs host the Houston Rockets, the questions about his offensive versatility will only get louder.