We’re now 15 games into the rookie season of Victor Wembayama, perhaps the most intriguing prospect since LeBron James in 2003-04.

This is enough of a sample size to begin breaking down his strengths and weaknesses while analyzing all areas of Wembanyama’s game thus far.

It’s time for some early season report card grades for the San Antonio Spurs’ prized rookie, who’s off to an (expected) impressive start.

Wembanyama possesses a lot of guard skills in his 7’4″ frame. He’s able to grab a rebound before taking a few long strides the length of the court and crossing a defender up on the other side.

The blessing of being able to handle the ball at his size is also a curse, as there’s a lot of space between his hand and the floor for defenders to try to reach in and poke the ball away, especially opposed to a 6-foot guard.

Turnovers have definitely been an issue for Wembanyama in the early going, as his 3.6 per game rank 10th in the NBA this season. His turnovers have been almost perfectly split between bad passes and lost balls, as sometimes he gets a little too eager while trying to act as a primary facilitator. The Spurs’ lack of an elite point guard doesn’t help, either.

Wembayama has a high IQ on both ends, which can lead to some nifty hockey assists or cross court passes where he whips a look to a corner shooter while still having his back to the basket.

Finding the right balance between showing off his ball-handling skills and knowing when to pull back and not do too much will be key moving forward.

Wembanyama is a unique rebounder who uses an incredible 8-foot wingspan instead of his slim 209-pound frame to secure the majority of his boards. While this is quite the opposite approach to some of the top glass-cleaners in the league like Nikola Jokić, Domantas Sabonis and Rudy Gobert, who use their massive frames to box out smaller opponents, Wembanyama’s method has been effective as well.

The 19-year-old ranks 17th overall in rebounds per game (9.1), with the majority of his work done on the defensive glass (7.1 per game, 16th overall). Wembanyama’s go-go-gadget arms can extend and pull in balls the vast majority of NBA players would miss.

His total rebound percentage (17.0 percent) ranks just 29th overall in the NBA, although it’s comparable to some of the league’s best big men like Giannis Antetokounmpo (17.0 percent), Bam Adebayo (16.7 percent) and Julius Randle (15.9 percent).

Rebounding is never going to be one of Wembanyama’s best attributes unless he’s able to pack on some added muscle. While he’ll eventually get better as he learns the shot tendencies of players around the league, this is going to be one of Wembanyama’s primary areas of growth for the first few years of his career.

Wembanyama is going to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards in his career, with his elite rim protection as the primary reason why.

His 7’4″ frame and 8-foot wingspan were designed in a shot-blocking lab. Compared to other players with similar heights (Boban Marjanović, Tacko Fall, Mark Eaton, etc.), Wembanyama is easily the best athlete of the bunch. He can move more fluidly and recover more quickly when he gets knocked off his spots.

Wembanyama is already third overall in blocks per game (2.6) trailing only Anthony Davis and Brook Lopez. He has only gone without a rejection once this season. His block rate of 7.9 percent ranks fourth in the NBA as well.

The variations in Wembanyama’s rejections have been exciting to watch as well. While he turns away a lot of one-on-one challenges (even when opponents attempt a hook shot), his nose for the ball and timing lead to some blocks that most defenders wouldn’t even try to get to, like this one on Obi Toppin:

Of course, blocks alone don’t measure the quality of interior defense.

Wembanyama is holding opponents to a stingy 53.4 percent shooting at the rim this season, a better mark than players like Chet Holmgren (56.1 percent), Jaren Jackson Jr. (56.3 percent) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (63.0 percent) .

Even when expanding an opponent’s shot chart to 10 feet, players are shooting just 47.4 percent with Wembanyama as the primary defender, a drop of 11.3 percent off their season averages.

Offenses are eventually going to have to gameplan around Wembanyama’s elite paint protection, if they aren’t already.

While Wembanyama is an elite rim protector, his perimeter defense is already quite good as well.

Using his length to challenge everything seemingly in a 10-foot radius, opponents simply look uncomfortable trying to get a three-point shot off when Wembanyama is the primary defender, often making a noticeable adjustment to their arc.

What makes Wembanyama different from other bigs who can defend on the outside of the paint is his reach and recovery. Opponents who dive deep into their bags to create some separation on the perimeter from Wembanyama have to hurry to get a shot off, as he’s incredibly quick to recover and challenge a shot. If a player drives by the Spurs rookie, they know he’ll be right behind them, waiting with an outstretched paw while trying to eliminate a layup attempt from behind.

Opponents are shooting 37.1 percent from three against Wembanyama this season, an almost identical number to their regular success rate of 36.9 percent. What doesn’t show up on the stat sheets are the number of times Wembanyama gets switched on to a smaller offensive player on the outside, with his mere presence forcing them to make a pass without even thinking about attempting a shot.

His 7.6 contested shots per game only rank 41st overall in the NBA, more a testament to the respect offenses are already giving Wembanyama instead of a lack of effort on his part.

While his footwork is quite good for someone his size, Wembanyama is still going to fall victim to some of the shiftier guards in the league from time to time.

Wembanyama has spread out his shot selection thus far, which is fine for a rookie trying to find his best spots in the NBA.

Interior scoring is something most players of Wembanyama’s size would rely on, although his ability to shoot and handle the ball have opened everything else. One method has clearly been more efficient than the other so far.

When the 19-year-old stays close to the basket and extends those long arms towards the rim, his success rate is naturally quite high. Wembanyama is making 75.0 percent of his shots in the restricted area, a number that even bests players like Joel Embiid, Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis.

He’s an easy lob target that would likely get even more looks inside if the Spurs had a better point guard situation. No one is out-jumping/reaching Wembanyama for a high lob pass, something San Antonio should take advantage of more.

The problem with Wembanyama’s inside scoring is its rarity. The prized rookie ranks just 62nd overall in field goal attempts within the restricted area (4.3 attempts per game), lower than players like Marvin Bagley III, Deni Avdija and Mo Wagner.

While Wembanyama doesn’t possess the physical strength needed to back down most of the bigger centers in the league, he can face up on the perimeter before driving past an opponent and using his touch to finish around the rim.

His ability to score around the basket is the weapon the Spurs offense should be built around.

This is the weakest part of Wembanyama’s game thus far, although the building blocks are certainly there for this area to turn into yet another strength.

Wembanyama has struggled mightily with his accuracy essentially everywhere from outside of three feet. He’s shooting just 26.9 percent from three, 29.6 percent from 16 feet to the arc and 39.4 percent from 10-16 feet out.

The mechanics are there for Wembanyama to become an above-average three-point shooter, and he’s actually been better when pulling up from deep (35.8 percent) than off the catch (22.7 percent). This is a good sign that, again, a high-level point guard would help his overall offensive production.

In terms of shot release, Wembanyama may become truly unguardable if he gets his “contested” jumpers to drop. His ability to rise up over the entire league has wowed even Kevin Durant, an expert himself at having a high release than few can actually do anything about.

“Yo, when he raised up and shot the ball, I was like, ‘There’s no way Imma be close to this,'” Durant said about guarding Wembanyama. “I’m just gonna play hard and contest, man. You gonna foul him or he’s just gonna make the shot. His misses are all on him.”

For now, the defensive gameplan should be to keep Wembaynama as far away from the basket as possible. While he’s eventually going to be an effective three-level scorer, that time is not now.

Passing/Ball-Handling: B

Rebounding: B+

Interior Defense: A+

Perimeter Defense: A-

Interior Scoring: A-

Perimeter Scoring: C-

With only one real weakness in his game thus far, Wembanyama has met his sky-high expectations coming into the league.

This is a player who, like Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson before him, is simply going to change the game forever with his playing style. We’ve never seen a player with his size demonstrate so much potential on both ends with a true guard-like handle and rim protection ability of a DPOY candidate already.

All the hype of the past year has been well deserved. Wembanyama is showing all the signs of being an all-time great.