NBA

Kevin Garnett delivers a strong message to the NBA about San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama is widely regarded as one of the NBA's brightest young talents. Kevin Garnett shares that belief but has a strong, controversial opinion about the San Antonio Spurs star.

Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on before a game against the Utah Jazz.
© Alex Goodlett/Getty ImagesVictor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on before a game against the Utah Jazz.

The San Antonio Spurs appear to have found their cornerstone in Victor Wembanyama, the 7’4″ French phenom, who is already considered one of the top players in the NBA despite being just in his second season. However, Kevin Garnett has some pointed thoughts on how Wemby is being perceived and categorized.

“I don’t think he’s a big. He’s not a big. He’s not a (expletive) big,” Garnett said vehemently during a heated -and really funny- debate with former Boston Celtics teammates Paul Pierce and Tony Allen on the Ticket and the Truth podcast.

Garnett criticized the media and analysts for trying to fit Wembanyama into the traditional mold of a big man, simply because of his height. “We’re trying to put this 7’4” (expletive) alien into a box and say, ‘No (expletive), give me your feet, you’re gonna fit in this big man box,’” he said.

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“I think Wembanyama is a guard or small forward, which we don’t want to see,” Garnett asserted. Later, putting himself in the Spurs star’s shoes, he added: “No (expletive), watch out. ‘I’m a three; I’m a two tonight. I’m a one tonight.’ Lord, he is that, he is on some other (expletive).”

Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett attends the “Cinnamon” premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theatre on June 11, 2023 in New York City.

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Wembanyama is a different kind of player

Kevin Garnett isn’t alone in his assessment of the French star’s unconventional style. “Wembanyama’s a different player at a different time of basketball,” NBA Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson said in an interview with AZCentral.

He’s got great skills and a strong work ethic, you can see that. But he doesn’t need to play the post. If he did, it’d be a whole different ball game. But there just aren’t big guys who can go up against him. He’s playing against smaller players, so the game is completely different.” Sampson added.

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Spurs star Chris Paul, a veteran of the league, also praised Wembanyama’s extraordinary qualities. “There’s probably no player in the league that everybody in the league talks about after the game like him,” he remarked when arriving in San Antonio. “He’s one of those guys that after the game this past year we talked about how weird it was to guard him.”

Wembanyama acknowledges his uniqueness

Wembanyama himself is fully aware of how his game deviates from the norm. “I’m not a conventional player,” he admitted in an interview last year, shared by reporter Josh Paredes on X. “Some of my former coaches said that even on those teams sometimes my teammates had trouble adapting to playing with me or I had trouble with that team playing.”

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Reflecting on his time in San Antonio, Wembanyama acknowledged that his adjustment to the NBA and to the Spurs was a process for both him and his teammates. “I needed time to figure out how I want to play and how I need to play for the Spurs and I guess everyone needed time to figure out also how to play with me,” he explained.

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