The Spurs once hit jackpot when they were able to land Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick in 1997, and it sure seems like they’ve done it again with Victor Wembanyama. Wemby was the most heralded prospect to enter the league since LeBron James, but not only has he handled the pressure of being the next big thing, he’s embraced it.
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Wemby is a game-changer on both ends of the floor. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to say that if he stays healthy enough to be eligible, he’s going to win Defensive Player of the Year every year for the foreseeable future and a whole bunch of MVPs. Offensively, he’s just scratching the surface, while still averaging over 25 points per game.
Last week, the French superstar made headlines for saying he believed that when he returned to the court from his calf injury, he would be the best player in the league. He backed it up in the NBA Cup semis, helping topple the 24-1 Thunder despite playing on a minutes restriction.
Kendrick Perkins had a lot of good things to say about Wemby on the latest episode of Road Trippin’. “Victor Wembanyama is my favorite person in the NBA,” Perk said.
“Because we’ve been asking and waiting on a young guy to embrace it all, right? And when you see the way that he conducts himself … Victor Wembanyama is what this league has been waiting on,” the former NBA champion explained.
Perkins pointed to some less obvious reasons why he believes Wemby is ready to be the face of the league, such as his reaction on the bench to teammate Luke Kornet throwing down a dunk off a lob pass. “The first thing I’m looking at is the bench,” Perk said
. “You know who’s up, the first person like, ‘Hell yeah!’ is Wemby. He actually f***** cares about winning. He actually cares about being that guy, being the face [of the league], he wants it. If Bron and Steph has to pass the torch to anyone that’s ready for it, I would say Victor Wembanyama wants it,” he added.
Perkins is an easy guy to argue with, but not in this case. Wemby has an unprecedented skill set for his ridiculous size, but he also has the eloquence and worldly curiosity of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a personality that’s much more forward-facing than the former Laker great.
He’s the total package, and with LeBron and Steph closing in on the ends of their respective careers, he’s the best candidate to take over.
Wemby’s individual impact on games is also off the charts, and for the first time in his three-year career, the Spurs are now catching up to him. San Antonio is looking more like a contender with every passing game, and their young core is only going to keep improving.
There’s a reason that Wemby was the most hyped prospect in at least two decades, and possibly ever, and he’s already delivering on that promise. The sky is the limit going forward.
