San Antonio Spurs star ‘Wemby’ is rocking the NBA playoffs. Science can help explain why

San Antonio Spurs star ‘Wemby’ is rocking the NBA playoffs. Science can help explain why

Wemby’s height gives him an advantage in blocking and rebounding, but how does the tallest player in the NBA keep hitting all those threes?

Even casual basketball fans know that Victor “Wemby” Wembanyama is a phenom. At a towering seven feet, four inches tall, the San Antonio Spurs forward-center is among the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) top defenders at the net and a serious threat on offense—often attempting five or more three-point shots per game. His combination of height, agility and all-around basketball prowess are so out of this world, in fact, that some fans have even taken to calling him “the Alien.”

In the ongoing playoffs, his three-point shooting has been on full display. In the first game of the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference Finals earlier this month, for instance, Wembanyama hit a deep three to tie the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) with less than a minute remaining on the clock in overtime. Wembanyama and the Spurs won the game in double overtime.

Whichever team wins this series will take on the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals in June. Ahead of the Spurs and OKC’s Game 6 match on Thursday—which the Spurs won— Scientific American spoke with experts in physics and biomechanics about the science of Wemby’s epic shots to find out: How does the tallest player in the NBA keep hitting all those threes?

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The NBA’s tallest players typically aren’t known for taking such deep shots as Wemby. “He’s just launching that thing,” says Larry Silverberg, an emeritus professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. “It’s extremely unique,” he says.

A lot goes into making a three-point basketball shot . For one, there’s the player: their height, the size of their hands and arms and the mechanics of their movement affect the shot. There’s also the aim of the ball, as well as its backspin, speed and angle of release, Silverberg explains. All these factors and more come together in determining the success of a shot.