Victor Wembanyama: Immediate Star or Bust?
Thomas Schlachter, CNN
Around the world, people have heard the last name Wembanyama and immediately thought about the 7’4 phenomenon out of France. He is a multi-fascinated star that is one of the tallest centers but also a good shooter, one of the best defenders, and can handle the ball like a point guard with so much fluidity it would be like being in NBA2K.
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However, with his really underwhelming performance in his first summer league game, scoring nine points, eight rebounds, and five blocks. You could say this is very underwhelming for a player who was claimed to be the best player since Lebron James. With that being said, all the Wemby haters came out with a bang. Marching and celebrating all over the place that “ I knew Wemby was gonna be a bust, he’s way too skinny he’s gonna get injured”. This was a major jump off the gun, not only is it summer league, but it was also Wemby’s first game with NBA rules, so all of a sudden it seems the kid is not allowed any time to adjust. I don’t get the hate around Wemby, he’s certainly a generational talent and he has supported that claim in his second game.
Wemby finished his second game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks on 9-of-14 shooting. This was a major step up from his game before, in which he only made two baskets. Wemby is clearly a special talent, I can tell that one day he’s going to be a very special player. However, I can’t overlook that one percent chance that he might be a bust. When I saw France vs USA, I saw France dominating with Wemby on the floor, until one man, Kenny Lofton Jr, clocked into the game and proved to be a formidable defender over Wemby. Lofton’s big body can hold Wemby because of his aggressiveness in the basket. I also think Lofton is a special player. If the Grizzles give him consistent minutes, he can be a star with some type of development.
However, that is just to show Wemby’s weakness. Can other players do this to him in the NBA? Yes, most definitely. There are a lot of big-body defenders, and the only way Wemby can battle that aspect of his game is to get thicker and stronger. It is definitely going to take a little while for him to get to the body weight he should be at, but if he can do that, I think his NBA career will be one of the greatest.
So, Bust Or rust?
With all that being said, will Wemby be a bust, or one of the greatest players to ever play the game? I want to pause here for a second and say that he has not played a single minute outside of summer league. I feel like it’s way too soon to make these calls. We have seen NBA players not do well in the summer league, move on, and do tremendous things in the NBA. So with that being said, I don’t think Wemby is going to be a bust, but I also don’t think he will be the greatest player of all time. Honestly, at the end of his career, I can see him being top 20 all time.
Breaking: Spurs sitting Wemby for the rest of Summer League
This just in at 3:20 PM (according to B/R) that the Spurs are shutting down Wemby for the rest of the summer league. It’s unclear as to why this has happened, possibly just for resting purposes so he does not burn out.
