Victor Wembanyama didn’t take long before putting up a terrific stat line for the San Antonio Spurs. Hyped to be the greatest prospect entering the NBA since LeBron James, Wembanyama put up a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double performance in his 2nd Summer League outing. Even though the Spurs have decided to bench him for the remainder of the Summer League, fans and analysts can’t stop raving about the potential of the French youngster. Charles Barkley is one of the few personalities in the NBA community to not fully be convinced of Wemby’s prowess yet. Once again, the $200,000,000 drawing analyst spoke about the teenager, stating that the NBA was a league full of grown men, unlike the LNB Pro A or Summer League.
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Even though Barkley has often expressed his concerns with the Frenchman’s abilities, the TNT analyst joked about San Antonio being the best fit for him. No, Barkley didn’t imply that the coaching or the front office would enable the 19-year-old to be great. But he joked that joining the Texas side will allow the 7-foot-5 Center to put on some much-needed weight.
Charles Barkley talks about Wembanyama’s potential in the NBA
Charles Barkley, who was at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship Tournament, made an appearance in an interview with SportsCenter. During his conversation with Kevin Negandhi, Barkley spoke about Wemby’s upcoming stint in the NBA. The Round Mound of Rebound kept emphasizing that competing in the NBA was a much different ball game than playing in the Summer League or the French League. According to the NBA Hall-Of-Famer, it is yet too soon to judge the prodigy. But the Chuckster joked about hoping that the Spurs rookie performs well, because it would be better for his own job, which recently earned him a $200 million deal with TNT.
“I don’t wanna jump the gun because I’ve never seen him play against NBA players. That little stuff that they doing in the Summer League, that league he played in France, it won’t be like the NBA. We got grown men in the NBA. We don’t know how good the Spurs are going to be… I hope he’s great because it’s better for my job and your job. But I really just think we need to let him play out cause like I said he gonna be playing against NBA players.
I don’t know a lot about the French league and I don’t even waste my time watching the Summer League, so I can’t wait for him to get started. It’s going to be a great thing to watch.”
Barkley also spoke about Wemby being blessed to have Gregg Popovich as his coach. Before moving on to the next question, the Phoenix Suns legend repeated his joke about the rookie gaining weight during his time in Texas.
Shaq doesn’t believe that Victor Wembanyama could have survived in his era
The 7-foot-4 sensation is a prime example of the modern-day Center. A unicorn, Victor can dribble, shoot, pass, and rebound equally well. While his game is perfectly equipped with all the necessary skills to become a star, Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t believe that Wemby could have survived the old-school style of play.
“If this was our era, banging, he would be chicken noodle soup which I kind of like,” Shaq recently said, on The Rich Eisen Show.
Shaq even disagreed with Adrian Wojnarowski’s claims of Wemby being the ‘greatest prospect in history of team sports’.
“I have a question. Woj was bragging about Victor Wembanyama was the best pick ever. You believe that?”
Clearly, there are a lot of expectations to be met for the teenager. At the same time, there are many doubters that Victor Wembanyama needs to prove wrong. The next season will be crucial for the youngster.
