Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 French phenom who is widely expected to be the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, has been likened to a unicorn for his almost mystical combination of size and skill, but LeBron James took the analogies a step further after seeing him in person on Tuesday.
‘He’s more like an alien,’ James said Wednesday after a preseason game in Las Vegas against the Phoenix Suns one night after witnessing Wembanyama in nearby Henderson, Nevada.
The ‘unicorn’ title has been tossed around NBA circles in recent years to describe any seven-foot-plus player who can dribble and shoot like a guard. Washington Wizards 7-foot-3 center Kristaps Porzingis is among the most notable to carry the moniker, but years of injuries and his shooting struggles have all but ended that talk.
Wembanyama, on the hand, looked to have no trouble hitting 3-pointers, or anything else for that matter, on Tuesday as his French team, Metropolitans 92, played the G League Ignite squad, featuring another top prospect in point guard Scoot Henderson.
Henderson had 28 points and nine assists in a win for the Ignite, but it was Wembanyama who stole the show, scoring 37 points on 11-for-20 shooting with seven 3-pointers, five blocked shots, and four rebounds.
‘Everybody goes on about this unicorn thing, everyone’s been a unicorn over the last few years,’ James said Wednesday, ‘but he’s more like an alien.’
Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 French phenom who is widely expected to be the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, has been likened to a unicorn for his almost mystical combination of size and skill, but LeBron James (pictured) took the analogies a step further after seeing him in person on Tuesday
Victor Wembanyama, who stands 7-foot-4, is pictured alongside teammate and former Boston Celtics point guard, Tremont Waters, who stands 5-foot-10
Victor Wembanyama cemented his status as the likely top pick of June’s NBA Draft on Tuesday outside Las Vegas by showing off his dazzling array of skills, as well as his 7-foot-4 frame, in a highly anticipated matchup with fellow prospect Scoot Henderson
James, once considered to be the greatest prospect in NBA history before winning four NBA Finals MVP awards, admitted that Wembanyama is a rare talent, even by his own standards.
‘I’ve never seen, no-one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor,’ James said, calling Wembanyama a ‘generational talent.’
‘I mean at 7-foot-4 or 7-foot-5 or 7-foot-3 – whatever the case may be – his ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot step-back jumpers out of the post, step-back threes, catch-and-shoot threes, block shots.
Wembanyama’s performance only cemented his status as the projected first pick of the 2023 Draft, leading some to wonder if he would sit out the French season to avoid injury.
However, his agent told ESPN that Wembanyama will do no such thing.
‘NBA people are telling me to shut him down, and we are not going to shut him down,’ player agent Bouna Ndiaye told ESPN on Wednesday. ‘If we came with that kind of talk to [Wembanyama], he will look at us and say, ‘What are you talking about?’ He’ll never agree to that. He wants to compete and get better. With Victor, it’s basketball first and everything else second. He was so pissed off that he lost.’
Victor Wembanyama #1 of Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 and Scoot Henderson #0 of G League Ignite shake hands after their game at The Dollar Loan Center on Tuesday
Victor Wembanyama, left, fouls NBA G League Ignite’s Eric Mika during the second half
Talk of widespread tanking around the NBA was ignited after the Wembanyama-Henderson matchup, as fans and media both predicted that mediocre teams might make themselves less competitive to improve their odds in the 2023 draft lottery.
‘Wembanyama and Scoot have been so amazing that I too have decided to tank this season,’ joked Sports Illustrated’s Howard Beck.
‘After Victor Wembanyama’s 37-point performance vs. [G-League Ignite] in Las Vegas last night, 11 teams trying to figure out how to lose all 82 games,’ added ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, a former college coach with an eye for European talent.
To Wembanyama, though, the talk all sounded a bit strange.
‘Of course, the word and the meaning behind the word is kind of weird,’ he told reporters ‘Personally, I would never want to lose. It’s just a personal thing. But I really try to stay outside of it. Either way, it’s gonna affect where I end up. All I can do for me is just focus on the work itself.’
In an effort to curb tanking, the NBA flattened the lottery odds in 2019, giving the three worst teams each a 14-percent chance of winning the top pick. So while middling teams are expected to trade off veteran talent in hopes of improving lottery odds, they can’t do much to improve their chances beyond that.
Ignite and Metropolitans 92 play again on Thursday afternoon.
‘We came to expose Victor to everyone, and teach him what the next 15 years of his life will look like in terms of managing expectations and the attention that’s coming his way,’ Ndiaye told ESPN.
‘We came for learning. We want him to be the best he can be. The next game he may struggle. He needs to learn how to be consistent. Repeat, be better, learn.’ The impact of it all threatens to alter the landscape of the NBA season.