For years, NBA scouts have kept tabs on French teenager Victor Wenbanyama. He was projected to fight with Scoot Henderson for the first-overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. And now that everybody saw him put on a show against the G-League ignite, that debate is over.
Wembanyama is the ultimate unicorn. He's got a never-before-seen combination of size, length, athleticism, strength, handles, shooting, and shot-blocking. Simply put, he looks like a maxed-out player from a video game.
The hype is real, and we could be in for an unprecedented amount of teams tanking to get him. That's why NBA analyst Bill Simmons went as far as to state that Wembanyama is already a better NBA prospect than LeBron James was before entering the league.
Bill Simmons Says Victor Wembanyama Is A Better Prospect Than LeBron James
"I think Wembanyama is ahead of LeBron as the best prospect I've ever seen," Simmons said on his podcast. "I think ahead of LeBron for just like, oh my god, what is this? I don't see any way he's not an incredible player unless he gets hurt."
"But you could say that about any player. And maybe that's part of the magic with LeBron was that his size," Simmons added. "You would think, well, this guy has a chance to be as durable as anybody. Wimbledon. Yama, there's just no way he'm not going to be one of the best players in the league. It's impossible. Like, how can I bet this? You obviously can't."
Adrian Wojnarowski Says Wenbanyama Is The Greatest NBA Prospect Of All Time
Notably, Simmons is not the only analyst with that opinion. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski recently explained how Wembanyama will make a massive league-wide impact before playing a single minute:
"Victor Wembanyama is the singular greatest prospect in NBA Draft history," Woj said."The impact he's going to have on the NBA this season is dramatic. As one GM told me the other day we are going to race to the bottom like we've never seen before in the NBA. Teams trying to put themselves in position to draft Wembanyama, or get the second pick and get Scoot Henderson, who in any other year would be the No. 1 overall pick."
"He is so advanced skillwise, there's just never been anyone like him," Woj continued. "The level of tanking we may see in the NBA this year... you may see more player be available earlier in the season as teams don't want to be in a position to be winning... that has an impact for contenders... Victor Wembanyama is going to really impact the league before he plays a minute in it."
Unlike other players with that kind of frame, Wembanyama is strong and bulked up and doesn't come with injury concerns, so he's got a legit chance to become the greatest player of all time. Of course, it's still too early to say.
