Tonight was supposed to be headlined by the continuation of NBA preseason action, but an unlikely game ended up being the most entertaining of the night. It wasn’t the return of Zion Williamson for the New Orleans Pelicans but 2 players who haven’t even been drafted in the NBA.
Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson have widely been projected as the No. 1 and No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, with Wembanyama expected to go first. Both players have generational projections and have caused a lot of teams to tank this season with the hopes of drafting one of these 2 players.
Wembanyama’s Metropolitan’s 92 faced off against Henderson’s G League Ignite in an absolutely stellar matchup that saw Wembanyama have 37 points with 7 3-pointers made and 5 blocks. Henderson had 28 points with 9 assists and 5 rebounds. NBA fans collectively were thrilled by this battle between draft prospects, predicting many teams to tank for them after this showcase.
Scoot vs Victor duel… pic.twitter.com/Gthty5jOPQ
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) October 5, 2022
Victor Wembanyama tonight:
37 points
7 3PM
5 blocks
He’s the real deal pic.twitter.com/BHp8XwRYmF
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 5, 2022
Scoot Henderson tonight:
28 points
9 assists
5 rebounds
Crazy talented 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yOsKx2ODKi
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 5, 2022
no. but seriously. what in the entire hell is Victor Wembanyama pic.twitter.com/0kflukjwz5
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) October 5, 2022
Victor Wembanyama is an alien pic.twitter.com/nahSxZIE0L
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) October 5, 2022
I've seen all I need to see.
1. Victor Wembanyama
2. Scoot Henderson
3-14: You should have tanked harder and/or hoped for better lottery luck.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 5, 2022
#2 NBA prospect Scoot Henderson putting the moves on Victor Wembanyama 😳🔥
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/aT8tSlMbnm
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2022
Get ready for a Victor Wembanyama tank a thon in the NBA this year @PatBevPod pic.twitter.com/KjtKT6VHbd
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 5, 2022
SGA-Dort-Giddey-Chet-Wembanyama
Just wanted to see what it looked like typed out.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) October 5, 2022
Knicks are in attendance for Scoot Henderson and G League Ignite vs. Victor Wembanyama and Metropolitans 92 in Las Vegas tonight. I’m sure all 30 teams have someone at the game.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) October 5, 2022
Victor Wembanyama is what you call the Kevin Durant effect. When KD hit the scene handling the ball like A.I. while shooting it like Dirk with that height and frame it changed the game for 6’10 and above players. By 2014 tall kids didn’t look to the post, they wanted to cook.
— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) October 5, 2022
Only took a minute or so for Victor Wembanyama to show everyone in the building he's everything he's billed as and more. What an incredible start erasing everything around the rim, creating his own shot skillfully after bringing the ball up the floor and finishing a lob.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) October 5, 2022
i know we had Zion and Ja just a minute ago, but Wemby/Scoot still feels like a whole different level as a top-2
just the freakiest freak to ever freak and Baron Davis 2.0
— Jerry Hinnen (@JerryHinnen) October 5, 2022
Scoot Henderson looking at the No. 1 pick pic.twitter.com/vRL3itnR2u
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/MarcJSpears/status/1577490784412397568
Scoot Henderson's mentality right now in this game vs. Vic pic.twitter.com/oXoFeX2GAc
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) October 5, 2022
Scoot Henderson is attacking Victor every chance he can and finishing over him. These two look like every bit of the best players in the draft
— Bryson Wright (@BrysonWright3) October 5, 2022
best # 1 and # 2 pick in the nba draft since???
— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) October 5, 2022
Victor and Scoot are going crazy rn… PLEASE WATCH THIS GAME RIGHT NOW
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) October 5, 2022
Sucks that Scoot isn’t a lock to go 1 cause he’s the best guard prospect we’ve seen in a very long time
— Charles (@BlockedByBamba) October 5, 2022
Scoot Henderson's playmaking is sensational.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) October 5, 2022
Wemby meets Scoot at the rim 👀 https://t.co/cTq5owRjp1
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 5, 2022
OKC may only beat the Lakers once this year. We’re gonna see generational tanking
— Ballsack Sports (@BallsackSports) October 5, 2022
Gonna need you all to photoshop the jerseys here into what unis these two will be holding up after the NBA Draft: pic.twitter.com/8Ckv6dB0Yo
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/HowardBeck/status/1577513827918397440
I’ve seen enough. Victor Wembanyama will rule the world someday. Shouldn’t be that good of a shooter at 7’3” and 18 years old.
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) October 5, 2022
The French squad with Wembanyama ended up losing the game to the more well-rounded G league Ignite by a score of 115-122. With multiple NBA scouts reportedly in attendance, the draft wars for these 2 players will officially start now.
The Best 2 Prospects In A Single Draft Since 2019?
The last time we had 2 clear top prospects in a draft like this was in 2019 when the options were either Zion Williamson or Ja Morant. Both players were incredibly hyped then and have proven why they had that hype attached to them. Both players have already been All-Stars and are expected to take another step forward this season.
Wembanyama might be the best prospect the NBA draft has ever seen. There has never been a player of this size with this skill-set that has been so heavily recruited and many teams are going to go out of their way and tank for him.
Henderson is showing flashes similar to a young Derrick Rose or early-career Baron Davis. You could even compare him with Ja Morant, but his shooting is already further along than most of his comparisons. He can be a massive star in the NBA and is already honing his skills against professional players in the G League.
A generational tankathon might be coming this season for all teams that don’t have a chance to contend. Only 2 of those teams can get these prospects, so it’s going to be a very interesting season.
