Victor Wembenyama

[Vermont Green]

Ya know, maybe some none career ending, but season injuries to JB and JT get us him.  I mean, that's how GSW got Wiseman and how the Spurs got Duncan.

That said, no way Jose, I'm praying for good health across the team next year.

Wiseman hasn't shown anything yet.

I wouldn't give up on Wiseman just yet.  Yes, he has had some injuries and to date, hasn't really been able play consistently but he does have 39 NBA games (27 starts, about a college season ironically) and in those games 11.5 pts and 5.8 rebs.  The couple of times I have seen him play, he has looked really good to me.

Joel Embiid was drafted in 2014 (at age 20), didn't even play at all until 2016 (age 22), and wasn't able play close to a full season until 2017 (age 23), and look at him now.  Wiseman will be 21 this season.  They will probably highly manage his minutes this season too (they can afford to) but I don't think that will be necessarily a reflection of his potential ceiling.

[Roy H.]

Ya know, maybe some none career ending, but season injuries to JB and JT get us him.  I mean, that's how GSW got Wiseman and how the Spurs got Duncan.

That said, no way Jose, I'm praying for good health across the team next year.

Wiseman hasn't shown anything yet.

In fairness, Wembenyama hasn't showed much yet, either.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/victor-wembanyama-1.html

It's obviously projected that he will, though.  I think Wiseman will turn out pretty decently, too.

[Goldstar88]

Ya know, maybe some none career ending, but season injuries to JB and JT get us him.  I mean, that's how GSW got Wiseman and how the Spurs got Duncan.

That said, no way Jose, I'm praying for good health across the team next year.

Wiseman hasn't shown anything yet.

In fairness, Wembenyama hasn't showed much yet, either.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/victor-wembanyama-1.html

It's obviously projected that he will, though.  I think Wiseman will turn out pretty decently, too.

It’s so hard to predict how European prospects will do once in the NBA. I remember the incredible hype regarding Ricky Rubio as he was lighting up the Euro League at 16 years old. He was a decent player when he came over, but definitely not a star. Then you have Luka who IMO wasn’t hyped as much even though he was averaging nearly 20/10/10 in Europe as a 17 year old, and then Luka turns out to be the transcendent all star player.

[gouki88]

Ya know, maybe some none career ending, but season injuries to JB and JT get us him.  I mean, that's how GSW got Wiseman and how the Spurs got Duncan.

That said, no way Jose, I'm praying for good health across the team next year.

Wiseman hasn't shown anything yet.

In fairness, Wembenyama hasn't showed much yet, either.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/victor-wembanyama-1.html

It's obviously projected that he will, though.  I think Wiseman will turn out pretty decently, too.

For a 17-18 year-old, those are good besides the poor shooting in the EuroLeague.

He also averaged 14/7 with nearly 6 blocks in the U19 championship, including 22/8/8 in the final.

[gouki88]

Ya know, maybe some none career ending, but season injuries to JB and JT get us him.  I mean, that's how GSW got Wiseman and how the Spurs got Duncan.

That said, no way Jose, I'm praying for good health across the team next year.

Wiseman hasn't shown anything yet.

In fairness, Wembenyama hasn't showed much yet, either.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/victor-wembanyama-1.html

It's obviously projected that he will, though.  I think Wiseman will turn out pretty decently, too.

It’s so hard to predict how European prospects will do once in the NBA. I remember the incredible hype regarding Ricky Rubio as he was lighting up the Euro League at 16 years old. He was a decent player when he came over, but definitely not a star. Then you have Luka who IMO wasn’t hyped as much even though he was averaging nearly 20/10/10 in Europe as a 17 year old, and then Luka turns out to be the transcendent all star player.

Luka never averaged anything close to that in Europe, besides for Slovenia in the Olympics. His best season was 16/5/4, which is immense for European stats.

[Goldstar88]

You are right, those stats were for the Olympics. I agree, 16/5/4 is still really impressive for a 17 year old kid playing professionally in the Euro-league.

[footey]

This guy is going to dominate the NBA in 4-5 years.

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1571185390408572928?s=46&t=yquXh5QKCKbgOr--wiyyaA

[gouki88]

This guy is going to dominate the NBA in 4-5 years.

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1571185390408572928?s=46&t=yquXh5QKCKbgOr--wiyyaA

Merged this with a thread I started a few months ago with some other footage - yep, he is unbelievable.

To have that kind of touch with the ball at 7'4, and a freakin 8' wingspan (!!), is unbelievable. He looks like KD if he was 4 inches taller and longer.

[nickagneta]

Not loving his base or lower body strength. It's what is the bane of many super tall, skinny players.

[gouki88]

Just an update. Against the G-League Ignite team, he put up 37 points, 5 blocks and 4 rebounds in a 7 point loss. That included 7 made three pointers.

https://www.nba.com/news/top-prospect-wembanyama-shows-off-repertoire-in-high-profile-exhibition

Watch some of the highlights. He looks like a taller Kevin Durant.

[Kernewek]

Ya know, maybe some none career ending, but season injuries to JB and JT get us him.  I mean, that's how GSW got Wiseman and how the Spurs got Duncan.

That said, no way Jose, I'm praying for good health across the team next year.

Wiseman hasn't shown anything yet.

In fairness, Wembenyama hasn't showed much yet, either.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/victor-wembanyama-1.html

It's obviously projected that he will, though.  I think Wiseman will turn out pretty decently, too.

It’s so hard to predict how European prospects will do once in the NBA. I remember the incredible hype regarding Ricky Rubio as he was lighting up the Euro League at 16 years old. He was a decent player when he came over, but definitely not a star. Then you have Luka who IMO wasn’t hyped as much even though he was averaging nearly 20/10/10 in Europe as a 17 year old, and then Luka turns out to be the transcendent all star player.

Small point of order: A lot of the hype (in the USA) around Rubio came from his performance in the 2008 Olympics as a 17 year old, when Spain finished second to the US. And he was looking like a great player until he wrecked his knee fouling Kobe, which ended his rookie year.

Doncic never really had the same kind of big performance against international competition that Americans would care about.

[Jvalin]

Am I the only one who's highly sceptical regarding his potential? I mean, who was the last 7'3" guy who became a legit star? Porzingis flamed out due to injuries. Arvydas Sabonis may was the most talented big man in basketball history, yet he never fulfilled his potential due to injuries. Ralph Sampson was a bit taller at 7'4". His career was cut short due to injuries. The Rockets were sky high on him and they even rejected a package of Jordan and Clyde Drexler for Sampson in order to pair him with Hakeem. Btw, basketball has come a long way since the days of the twin towers in Houston. Being extremely tall is a disadvantage in the modern game cause you aren't mobile enough to switch ball screens on the perimeter. Gobert was a net negative in the Clippers series cause he couldn't defend the corner three.

Hopefully, Wembenyama will have a great career, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[gouki88]

Am I the only one who's highly sceptical regarding his potential? I mean, who was the last 7'3" guy who became a legit star? Porzingis flamed out due to injuries. Arvydas Sabonis may was the most talented big man in basketball history, yet he never fulfilled his potential due to injuries. Ralph Sampson was a bit taller at 7'4". His career was cut short due to injuries. The Rockets were sky high on him and they even rejected a package of Jordan and Clyde Drexler for Sampson in order to pair him with Hakeem. Btw, basketball has come a long way since the days of the twin towers in Houston. Being extremely tall is a disadvantage in the modern game cause you aren't mobile enough to switch ball screens on the perimeter. Gobert was a net negative in the Clippers series cause he couldn't defend the corner three.

Hopefully, Wembenyama will have a great career, but I'll believe it when I see it.

There has never been a prospect like Wembenyama before, that is the point

[liam]

Not loving his base or lower body strength. It's what is the bane of many super tall, skinny players.

BANE!!!!

[Vermont Green]

It is hard to tell whether Wembenyama is going to be more Ralph Sampson or more Kevin Durant.  It does seem that he has skills more like Durant.  The body or frame is a concern.  Shawn Bradley is another one that comes to mind.  Wembenyama may be different.