Ahead of tonight’s featured matchup between the Lakers and Spurs, young rookie Victor Wembanyama got a chance to react to a shout-out from King James, who referred to him as an “alien” with a fluid and graceful movement on the floor.
“I hated when people would call me a unicorn. I’d much rather have people call me an alien… Unicorn isn’t really original. He also talked about something even more important for me, he said I smile a lot on the court. For me, it all comes down to playing a sport and just having fun.”
"He's for sure a generational talent."
Victor Wembanyama reacts to the high praise received from LeBron James 🤝
Don't miss Wemby in action vs. Lakers TONIGHT at 8pm/et on NBA TV! pic.twitter.com/AkbNqpoiia
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2023
The “unicorn” nickname belongs to Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, who earned the title from Kevin Durant back in 2016. While Wembanyama does have a similar build and play style to Kristaps, he’s a very different player who deserves a description all to himself. As for why James chose “alien” to describe Wembanyama, it’s really the only word that makes sense, given his freakishly long frame and magical skills with the ball.
Is Wembanyama Rookie Of The Year?
Say what you want about Victor, but he’s holding his own out there as a 19-year-old superstar. Through 21 games this season, Wembanyama is averaging 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game on 43.1% shooting. Despite some rough spots here and there, Victor has been solid on both ends for the Spurs and he’s leading the latest rookie leaderboard for the 2023 class. But with Thunder center Chet Holmgren having an impressive run in OKC, winning Rookie of the Year is far from a given for the French superstar.
Arguably, the biggest problem for Wemby is the performance of his group so far. Thanks to a weak supporting cast, a deep Western Conference, and questionable lineups from Gregg Popovich, the Spurs have struggled to find a rhythm this season at just 3-19. Currently, they are riding a 17-game losing streak that marks the worst in franchise history. Unicorn or not, Victor didn’t sign up to lose games like this and the whole world is watching to see how he handles the adversity.
The Spurs Are Risking It All
For a generational talent like Victor Wembama, the Spurs cannot afford to waste any productive seasons. In the aftermath of Kawhi Leonard’s departure, the Spurs have been in a deep rebuild, waiting for a player like Victor to fall in their lap and save the day. And while he’s been fine individually, the lack of a point guard or really and true playmaker on the team is limiting his development and it’s handicapping the entire offense. Instead, Gregg Popovich continues to run Jeremy Sochan at the point with varying degrees of success.
Only time will tell how the Spurs come out of this season, but this is not the start that fans were hoping for in San Antonio. After 20+ years of consistent greatness under Pop, Duncan, and Parker, it’s a new era for the Spurs but it’s one that will start ugly before it gets any better. Against the Lakers tonight, it will be interesting to see what kind of resistance the Spurs are able to offer but hope for a victory is narrow given how good the Lake Show have been all season long.
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