One of the biggest storylines in the NBA this season is Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 prodigy rookie from the San Antonio Spurs. He’s been called a generational prospect, and many believe he can be the best player in the league, if not a transcendent, transformational superstar in about five years.
In his first two regular season games, he showed a lot of promise. Even though I only shot 7-for-19 from the field on Friday, I came alive in key moments and made a late shot to force overtime. The Spurs defeated the Houston Rockets 126-122. The French genius scored 21 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Many are calling him the best rookie in the NBA since LeBron James in 2003. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Davon Hamm was asked to compare the hype surrounding him to the hype surrounding James as a rookie.
On Sunday, the final 20th anniversary of LeBron James’ NBA debut — with the Lakers playing in Sacramento, the same city where LeBron played for the Cavaliers on Oct. 29, 2003 — I asked Davin ·Darvin Ham’s hype rivaled LeBron’s at the time pic.twitter.com/Uwaq4sdD0A
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 28, 2023
“It’s close, but we’re just getting started,” Hamm said. “What I’ve seen so far about this young man is really, really impressive. Watch him when he’s finished in France. But for the most part, he still has a long way to go. “He’s absolutely There’s potential, but I mean, when you talk about durability, self-care, work put in, he has potential, I’ll say it again, but time will tell. “
Wembunyama is a very different player than James, but despite his immense height and wingspan, he has a very unique and uncanny ability to handle the ball and shoot from outside. If he stays healthy, he should have a good chance of living up to the hype surrounding him.