Is Victor Wembanyana Destined To Be NBA’s Greatest Player?
Will Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyana grow to become the NBA’s greatest player? (Photo via SI.com)
There are some rookies who meet expectations, a few who exceed expectations and then there is Victor Wembanyana.
He broke the mold for rookie achievement. The San Antonio Spurs sensation has raised the bar for what’s considered an outstanding rookie NBA season to a level that may never be equaled.
Yes, he was that good. And he’s only going to get better.
There was a long period during the NBA playoffs when the path to a championship went through the Spurs. San Antonio treated a berth in the NBA Finals as if it were a birthright.
While those days of David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili seem so long ago, the fact of the matter is that the Spurs are beginning that long climb back toward life among the NBA elite. And it is Wembanyana who will be leading the way toward that destination.
There are already those in the game willing to concede that by the time he’s done playing, the 7-foot-4 unicorn from France will reign as the greatest player in NBA history.
Wembanyana Already Greatest NBA Rookie
The hype surrounding Wembanyana as he was entering his first NBA season was massive. And yet somehow, he managed to live even larger than that largesse.
Certainly in terms of teenage NBA players, Wembanyana’s performance during the 2023-24 season placed him atop that list. Yes, even better than LeBron James was at that age.
Wembanyana’s per-game averages for his first NBA campaign were 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds. 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.6 blocks. By comparison, James, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003-04, recorded 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
What’s even more amazing about those totals is that James was playing 39.5 minutes per game as a rookie. Wembanyana played just 29.7 minutes a game during his rookie season.
Wembanyana received all 99 first-place votes to become the first unanimous NBA rookie of the year in 40 seasons. Certainly, his first NBA campaign was one for the ages.
The French sensation is the first rookie in league history to finish with averages of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks per game. In fact, he’s the first NBA player to do so since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000, a season in which Shaq was the NBA MVP.
Wembanyana is the first rookie and fourth player in NBA history to finish a season with minimums of 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocked shots. As well, he’s the first player to finish with at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers made in a season.
He’s Only Going To Get Better
If Wembanyana is as good at math as he is at basketball, we could be in for a once-in-a-lifetime treat as he evolves toward his prime years as a player.
“I would say that I am currently at 15% between my first NBA game and what I hope will be my prime,” Wembanyana said in an interview with French media.
That’s a delightful thought if you’re a Spurs fan and a frightening forecast for supporters of every other NBA club – not to mention for opponents who will be tasked with the assignment of guarding Wembanyana in the future.
He’s the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in blocks. Even though he didn’t win NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Wembanyana was voted by his peers in a player ballot as the toughest defensive player in the association.
With just one season under his belt, Wembanyana is already residing in exclusive territory.
He became the first rookie since Robinson to record a 10-block triple-double. During a game against the Toronto Raptors, Wembanyana finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks. He joined Robinson and Duncan as the only players in NBA history to register 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks during a single game.
Recording 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists, Wembanyana was the first NBA player to put together this stat line since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1996. He’s also the 15th NBA player and youngest ever to assemble a 5×5 stat line. Wembanyaya collected 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks while seeing just 30 minutes of floor time during a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Spurs center would also join Michael Jordan as the only NBA player to ever post consecutive games with at least five blocks and steals.
If it’s true that you’re known by the company you keep, then Wembanyana has already put himself in good stead.
What His Peers Are Saying
The numbers certainly suggest the path that Wembanyana is traversing toward all-time greatness. And those accomplishments are being backed up by those who are best equipped to assess his potentials – Wembanyana’s NBA peers.
Some of them are already seeing the potential for the young French star to become the best NBA player of all-time.
“He might be the best defensive player we’ve ever seen,” Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball said of Wembanyana. “He has a chance to be the best player ever, potentially. I’ll say that right now.”
Ball isn’t the only one making such projections.
“I think in three years we’ll be talking about him being in the conversation as one of the best players in the game of basketball,” ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams said. “Victor Wembanyana could be one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen.”
One season into his NBA career, the 7-foot-4 Wembanyana has already scaled great heights. Going forward, his trajectory only figures to remain upward in motion.