Victor Wembanyama: The Greatest Rookie EVER?

Fill in the blank…. Wemby is the BEST Rookie since ____

Don't short change Larry Bird's rookie season: 21.3 PPG 10.4 RPG 4.5 APG FG 47.4% Wins added: +32, which was an NBA record at the time.

You really think he’s better than Anthony Bennett?! I’m unsubscribing.

Just a reminder, Wilt won the rookie of the year AND the MVP awards at the same season! 😉🥇🏆

The "tougher era" argument actually works both ways. It is much harder for Victor to be an elite defender in this era when the rules favor offense.

More than anything else about his game, I love Wemby's mentality. The guy absorbs basketball knowledge like a sponge, is already making huge improvements to his game, and has a knack for playing big in crunch time. He even has that competitive fire intact despite his team's record, and is a team player. The only flaw in his personality is that he's french, but no one can be perfect I suppose.

Wemby has the skills to be a top 10 of all time. I wouldn't put money on it though because the risk of an injury shortened career is just too high.

I've been saying all season - this is what a Kareem/Wilt-type prospect looks like in the 21st century. Wemby is even getting some of the Wilt foot-dragging...nobody roots for Goliath.

Wemby will end up in the goat debate if he doesn't get a career ending injury before he can get there

Great video as usual Jonny ! Even though I do agree with you on the fact that no player should win an individual award while his team simply sucks, but at the same time, records and teams rankings aside, Wemby is the best defender in the league rn.

People hate on this dude so much. Hes. An unbelievable player. He definitely is that. And then some

I'm 55 and I certainly didn't experience Kareem's rookie season and I don't know the context of the time. Using statistics is a useful but not decisive distinction. It has been evident throughout the season that Popovic's objective has never been to use Wembanyama's skills to the best of his ability but rather has tried to give him a season of pure running-in while minimizing the risk of injury as much as possible also because It was clear right from the start that the goal is the next draft. In this sense, the impression left is more important than the numbers and if you really want to take a statistic into consideration, the fact that a player like him is the most efficient player of the season in step-back three-point shots, i.e. the play that defines the today's basketball era game more than any other, seems astonishing to me.

I think the growth in assists is the most underrated aspect. Since the all star game he is 3rd among assists for centers behind only Jokic and sabonis(4th if you count draymond as a center). He is literally 5th in career assists per game by centers, and if he just maintained the same average from the end of the season he would be 2nd all time by the end of next year. The eye test shows even more. Just watching the reads he makes is amazing and a lot of the potential assists are either swung for a different shot or a missed open shot.

Jordan came in totally dominating and left the game totally dominating

Different Era and More international players so ofc Wemby is a freak of nature with being like 7'3 with shooting, DPOY potential on the defensive side,and he can handle the ball. He is very hyped up player so lets see if he can have a healthy career

It’s crazy that you can call his first 35 games bad. That just shows how historical he has been since. His first 35 is still phenomenal for a rookie

Great content as always. 🇧🇬

If Victor Wembenyama develops a consistent Skyhook OMG

I genuinely think Spurs trying to tank for a top pick in the 2024 draft. While Alex Sarr is the first pick in the draft who is a great 2 way player and can recreate the twin tower duo and make it basically impossible to score at the rim, but someone like Reed Shepard does even better as while he might only be 6’4, he’s a menace on defence, shooting over 50% from the 3 point line and a outstanding playmaker which is Wembys perfect teammate to acquire. If Reed Shepard is drafted next year, we might see Spurs already in the playoffs within their Wembys 2nd year. I’m not a spurs fan but I want to see Wemby reach heights we’ve never seen so I want the best for him and same for Reed Shepard.

I just hope he can stay healthy 🙏. I would love to see him reaching his top potential and where it takes him. Basketball needs that.