18 years old and no college scholarship, but the French rising star Victor Wembanyama is the top topic of conversation in the USA – including royal hymns of praise.
He is currently on everyone’s lips in the USA: Victor Wembanyama.
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The knighthood came from the king himself. “Everyone has been called a unicorn in recent years, but he’s more like an alien,” said Lakers superstar LeBron James about Victor Wembanyama: “He’s definitely a generational talent.”
Victor Wembanyama hasn’t played a single game in the NBA, he hasn’t attended an American college and is just 18 years old – but every basketball fan in the USA knows his name. “King” James too, of course, whose praise Wembanyama acknowledged with provocative nonchalance: “I thought, ‘Oh, that’s cool’. That’s all. It doesn’t change anything.” So modest. Of course, at the age of 18.
However, the 2.21 m giant has earned the recognition from the basketball-crazy states. He had his first US appearance at the beginning of October in Henderson (Nevada). There he and his team Metropolitans 92 from Paris met the development team G League Ignite in two friendlies.
Where is Wembanyama country?
And Wembanyama proved he’s comfortable in the spotlight. In the two encounters, he surpassed everyone with a total of 73 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks. Exactly at the right time he made the US headlines in capital letters, because despite the upcoming start of the NBA season, the question is now: where does the alien land?
A question that could have a major impact on the coming season, as is feared in the United States. Poor teams are predicted to lose games on purpose in hopes of landing the huge talent in the 2023 draft. It seems certain that Wembanyama will be the first player to be selected next year.
Some NBA officials have already approached Wembanyama’s management with absurd demands. “They want us to take him out,” his agent Bouna Ndiaye told ESPN, “we’re not going to do that. He would look at us and say, ‘What are you talking about?’.” The NBA teams fear for the health of the coveted talent, who will appear in the first French league in the coming season.
“He will be the most hyped player since LeBron James”
His enormous height with an arm span of 2.42m combines Wembanyama with speed and agility that only point guards usually have on the court. Top players like Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) or Kristaps Porzingis (Washington Wizards) have offered a comparable overall package in the NBA for years – including frequent serious injuries.
Young Wembanyama is already being compared to the superstars of the industry. “He’s going to be the most hyped player since LeBron James,” claimed an ESPN general manager. Basketball expert Stephen A. Smith even described the Frenchman as “a bigger version of the great Kevin Durant”.
Wembanyama himself doesn’t compare himself to anyone. His goal is to be “something you’ve never experienced before”. Just like a real alien.
