“Victor Wembanyama Is a 7ft 4″ Kevin Durant!”: Kendrick Perkins Shares Analysis on Spurs’ Rookie After 23-Point Outing Against the Heat

Victor Wembanyama finally showed San Antonio fans a glimpse of what to expect from him this upcoming season. The Spurs rookie led his team to a 120-104 victory against the Miami Heat on Friday. The 16-point victory marked the Texas side’s first preseason win this year. After the game ended, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins ended up calling the 19-year-old prodigy a modern version of Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant.

Wembanyama’s 23-point performance on 10-for-15 shooting helped the Spurs edge out a Jimmy Butler-less Heat team quite easily. Even though the Heat were missing most of their key players and didn’t really pose much of a threat, the matchup will certainly boost the French star’s confidence before the season starts. Wemby was effective on the defensive end of the floor as well, recording three blocks and four rebounds to his name.

The performance managed to impress ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, who added to the hype surrounding the #1 pick of the 2023 Draft by comparing him to Kevin Durant. During an NBA on ESPN segment, Big Perk said, “Offensively, in my opinion, he’s [Victor Wembanyama is] a 7’4 version of Kevin Durant. He can do it all. And the way he’s moving out there-the way he can anchor a defence to cover ground, protect the basket…that was crazy.”

 

“Offensively in my opinion, he’s a 7’4 Kevin Durant”

– @KendrickPerkins on what he saw last night from Victor Wembanyama

(via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/v5Zpp5olKG

— BASKETBALL ON (@BasketballOnX) October 14, 2023

The former Boston Celtics center further pointed out that the rookie sensation has improved significantly since his Summer League stint. It’s quite evident that he is putting in the effort to sharpen his skills and adapt to NBA conditions. Perkins also underlined that the Spurs rookie has put on more weight and looks more stable as a defensive player.

Victor Wembanyama knows the importance of defensive

At a time when most rising stars are obsessed with scoring more points, Wembanyama seems to take his defensive assignments very seriously. He has also admitted that a good game for him usually entails success on both ends of the floor.

 

Pop on playing Victor at the 5… pic.twitter.com/s7jm8iwoRu

— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) October 14, 2023

“When players have good games, it’s on both ends of the floor. So, to me it’s really important,” he recently said, during a press conference. Meanwhile, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich has revealed that he intends to use Wemby both as a power forward and as a center, depending on the matchups offered by different situations. It will be interesting to see how a veteran coach like Pop utilizes the French sensation’s talents in his rookie year.