From the moment generational prospect Victor Wembanyama was about to enter the NBA, the hype surrounding the young Frenchman was almost second to none. Talent evaluators rave about Wembanyama’s impressive physical attributes. Standing at 7-foot-4 with an 8-foot-0 wingspan, Vunbanyama’s shooting potential combined with Defensive Player of the Year-style defensive instincts make him an enticing prospect, all of which comes with Gregg Poe Povich’s San Antonio Spurs. Preseason.
As the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, there are always expectations. Of course, two of the greatest Spurs of all time, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, also earned rave reviews during their time and were hailed by many as potential franchise saviors when they entered the league.But Gregg Popovich is right, there may be No other prospect is more hyped More than LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama.
“This guy has been hyped for so long, kind of like LeBron. I compare him to LeBron more than (David Robinson and Tim Duncan) in that regard,” Popovich said, Tom Osborne of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Now, for a player as young as Wembanyama, it’s not always easy to deal with the attention that comes with the hype surrounding him. After all, the Spurs rookie has shown incredible potential as a two-way player in the preseason. Imagine how great he could become once he plays a few seasons in the NBA. Similar to LeBron James, Wembunyama may be able to cash in on all the attention he’s attracted so far.
Back when James was still in high school, he was already dubbed “The Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated; imagine how loud the hype surrounding him would have been if social media was as ubiquitous as it is now.
At least Gregg Popovich got to see the prized Spurs rookie know how to deal with With all expectations, this bodes well for his future as an NBA star.
“(I tried to) be more protective of him…but I noticed early on that when I was talking to him, he looked at me like, ‘Why is this guy telling me all these things?’ Like, He already knows it, he’s been through it,” Popovich added.