“This Kid Is 8 Feet Tall!”: Paul George Recalls Dismissing 7ft 5″ Victor Wembanyama After Clippers Teammate Hyped Him Up 2 Years Ago

Paul George is one of the integral pieces of any hope the Los Angeles Clippers have of a championship run. But, even PG13 knows that he can’t do it all by himself. He will need a strong team to back him up, and one of his teammates that he is fond of is Nicolas Batum. Recently, George spoke about the type of player Batum is and even shared some stories on his podcast, Podcast P. And, one of them was about two years ago, when PG dismissed Batum’s praise for Victor Wembanyama.

Wemby has been a phenom for years. His skills, height, and ability were well-known across Europe, especially given how young he was. Everyone knew who he was and in France, they knew he was going to be the next big thing. However, many Americans only learned of him when he played against the G-League Ignite.

Nicolas Batum excitedly told Paul George about Victor Wembanyama

In 2021, Nicolas Batum finished his first year with the Los Angeles Clippers. Teaming up with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, he made one of the best teams in the NBA. He formed close bonds with one of the team’s stars PG. They spoke about many things, and at one time, one of their topics of discussion had to do with Batum’s fellow Frenchman.

Batum excitedly told George about a young man from his country making waves in the sport, Victor Wembanyama. He described Wemby as a player who was nearly eight feet tall and incredibly skilled. But, PG13 being skeptical, refused to believe him. In fact, the description only prompted George to mock the country of France, reminding Batum that Team USA has been dominating them in basketball for ages.

Fast forward two years and George was made to eat his words. After witnessing Wemby’s skill, firsthand, the Clippers star knew that he was the real deal. And now, every time he brings up the topic in front of Nic Batum, the latter gets to tell his teammate, “I told you so!”, with a smile on his face.

“I do remember when he was bringing up the whole Wemby discussion. I mean I didn’t know who the hell he was talking about. But, he was explaining like, this kid who was like eight foot tall, no bull sh*t. He’s like, ‘Yo! He’s almost eight feet!’. And, I was like, ‘Come on, you know, we all would have heard about this player if he’s like eight feet tall!’. And he goes, ‘No! I’m telling you…he’s really good!'”

Now, having been drafted first overall by the San Antonio Spurs, expectations are high for Wemby. Many expect him to become a great, perhaps even the greatest player of all time. That being said, there will always be a few skeptics, just like how PG was. But, Batum will be hoping Victor proves all of them wrong including Paul.

PG13 believes Victor Wembanyama will struggle to adapt to the NBA

Paul George was definitely shocked to see just how good Victor Wembanyama was, but he still had his doubts. Speaking on his podcast, a few months ago, he and Draymond Green believed that expectations are too high for Wemby. They feel that the French youngster will struggle to adapt to the NBA and that his trajectory will not be as smooth as everyone believes.

As they explained, the NBA is a whole other ball game and it isn’t easy to come here and dominate. So, they advised any fans who have hopes of seeing him become an All-Star in his rookie year to put their money elsewhere. But, despite their harsh criticism, they do concede that Wemby is too good to be a bust.

At the end of the day, only time will tell what the future holds for Victor Wembanyama. As things stand, he is incredibly talented and has all the tools he needs to become a bonafide superstar. But, the NBA world is cruel, and as PG points out adapting can be difficult. Hopefully, it isn’t too much of a struggle for the youngster dubbed “The Alien”.