San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dribbles the ball against Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dribbles the ball against Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)LM Otero/Associated Press

Earlier this week, images of Victor Wembanyama working out with a retired guard sparked intrigue. What, exactly, was the Spurs’ 7-foot-3 star doing with Jamal Crawford?

It turns out Wembanyama has struck up a friendship with Crawford, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year renowned for his ball-handling artistry and ability to humiliate just about any defender who stood in his path. Their relationship stems back to Wembanyama’s appearance on TNT’s NBA pregame show in late January. A first-year analyst, Crawford was curious about how extensive the rookie’s dribbling repertoire really was after he pulled off a nasty Shammgod crossover in a previous outing against Minnesota.

“Well, we go back to earlier this season when we had him on the show,” Crawford said Thursday on The Dan Patrick Show. “He had been doing some crazy moves so I asked him if he could do this particular move. ‘And he’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ve been doing that for years. I’m like, ‘Sh…yeah, OK.’”

The move in question was the self-coined “Crawford double behind-the-back shake and bake.” That, of course, got Crawford’s attention.

When the duo converged on the court a few weeks later for the Rising Stars Challenge during the All-Star break in Indianapolis, all eyes turned to an impromptu training session between Crawford and Wembanyama.

“Then we hooked up at All-Star and I showed him some freestyle moves, and from there our relationship kind of took off,” Crawford said. “I showed him a wraparound move where he sort of wraps (the ball) around his body. It’s only reserved for tall guards. Guys with long arms who can pull this off. I thought he could take it to the next level.

“It was funny, when I started showing him all the other rookies and sophomores on the court (gave us) all their attention, came over, stopped shooting. So I’m like, OK, let’s just keep this at surface level because everybody’s watching right now.”

Following their latest training session, the mere thought of Wembanyama unleashing a Crawford-esque bag of tricks next season should send tremors through the rest of the league. After all, the 2024 Rookie of the Year proved difficult enough to stop last season as he averaged 21.4 points, 3.9 assists and 1.8 3-pointers in just 29.7 minutes per game.

“He’s such a unique talent and you can use him so many different places on the court,” Crawford said. “You can use him bringing up the ball. You can use him in the mid-post area. You can use him in the post area. He can shoot transition 3s and do everything in-between.