Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren represent a new archetype - ESPN

EIGHT MONTHS AGO, late in the evening on Feb. 29, a nine-second sequence played out in what could have been considered a glimpse into the future of the center position in the NBA.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were in town to face the San Antonio Spurs, a marquee matchup between the rookie big men: two of the game's brightest young stars, Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.

With 3:29 left in the fourth quarter and the Spurs up six, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman swooped in to contest a layup at the rim, ripped down the rebound, tossed an outlet pass to point guard Tre Jones and trotted 12 strides up the Frost Bank Center floor before getting the ball back.

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His size 20½ right foot standing on the black paint of the Spurs' midcourt logo, the big man didn't hesitate. He launched a rainbow, 28-foot trey.

Swish.

It was a revelation as much as a vision for 5s across the league. Except for one detail: The Spurs didn't even officially consider him a center, listing him as a forward even after scrapping the idea of starting the 6-foot-11 Zach Collins alongside him.

«He's not really a 5,» Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said earlier in the season, referring to Wembanyama's skill set, which stretches far beyond the prototypical center's. «He's the one big guy out there.»

Wembanyama and Holmgren are multifaceted, extreme examples of a modern big-man archetype: 7-footers who protect the rim on defense and can space the floor as 3-point threats offensively. They impact the most valuable real estate in basketball — the paint — on both ends of the floor, clogging that territory as