Amid all the bad things the NBA community has learned in the past couple of weeks, a young prospect landed in the association to show that he is a special talent. Victor Wembanyama is expected to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and his recent performances in the US confirmed that.
If anybody doubted the Frenchman could do well in the NBA, he posted up big numbers during the two games he played against G League’s Ignite, where Scoot Henderson, another hyped prospect plays.
Wembanyama came, played and dominated, earning a lot of praise from around the league, with many players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry showing their admiration for the talented big man.
John Hollinger Has The Ultimate Praise For Victor Wembanyama
But these three legends weren’t the only ones in awe of Wemby. NBA analysts raved about him, and the good comments won’t stop coming anytime soon. For instance, John Hollinger of The Athletic had nothing but great things to say about Wembanyama. Hollinger compares him to three talented big men like Ralph Sampson, Kristaps Porzingis, and Dirk Nowitzki.
We all had high hopes for this week’s Battle Royale in the Las Vegas suburbs between the likely top two picks in the 2023 NBA draft, French big man Victor Wembanyama and G League Elite guard Scoot Henderson. But nothing could have prepared us for the show we got from both players in the first game on Tuesday, and in particular for the breathtaking performance by Wembanyama on Thursday.
Over the two games, Wembanyama scored 73 points, shot 9 of 18 on 3-pointers, drew 28 free throws, blocked nine shots … and, less commented upon, only committed three turnovers. Beyond that, it wasn’t even the statistical accumulation that was so amazing, but the breathtaking way in which he accomplished it.
Put simply, we have never seen anything like this before. Wembanyama is a basketball evolution all his own, a unicorn even among unicorns, the unholy melding of the best traits of Ralph Sampson, Kristaps Porzingis and Dirk Nowitzki.
Even though Sampson and Porzingis’ careers didn’t turn out to be as great as people expected, these two are terrific examples of what a player with a lot of talent with the basketball in their hands and height can do in the league. Kristaps is still playing in the league, so he has a chance to recover his level, but right now, that sounds unlikely.
As for Dirk, he’s still considered one of the greatest European players to set foot on an NBA court. Wembanyama has a big chance to surpass the German legend, just like other European superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, or Nikola Jokic. Victor is a very promising prospect who is already making a lot of noise. The sky is not even the limit for him anymore, so we have to wait to see how great he can be in the association.
