Victor Wembanyama: The 'alien' about to land in the NBA
Jörg Strohschein
June 21, 2023
Victor Wembanyama is considered basketball's new Wunderkind, and the hype surrounding the 19-year-old Frenchman is already immense. He's expected to join the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.
Young Victor Wembanyama is considered basketball´s next Wunderkind.
Image: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
Advertisement
A 19-year-old "alien" will soon land in the NBA, the basketball league regarded as the world's best.
Frenchman Victor Wembanyama may be one of the most highly-regarded newcomers to the NBA in decades. When the league's "draft" of new talent takes place on Thursday in New York, Wembanyama is expected to be the first player selected, even above the top players from the American college system and from the NBA's development league.
TheSan Antonio Spurs were awarded the first pick in this year's draft after winning the NBA "lottery" that determines the order of team choices in the first and subsequent rounds. The Texas club is widely expected to choose Wembanyama.
Wembanyama grew up in the tranquil Paris suburb of Le Chesnay. The "alien" moniker was first offered by none other than basketball superstar LeBron James, who saw the 2.20 meters Wembanyama play test games in Las Vegas. "I've never seen anyone so tall move so fluidly and elegantly on the court," James said in an interview with Sports Illustrated magazine. Many experts already see Wembanyama as the NBA legend's legitimate successor.
Advertisement
In the best of hands with Popovic
German national player Dennis Schröder, who like James plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, is enthusiastic about the young Frenchman. "He's unique. He has the size, the skills. He can dribble. He can throw. In the end, we've never seen anyone like that before."
Despite his height, and his incredible wingspan of 2.36 meters, Wembanyama is extremely flexible and agile. Apart from experience and physical robustness, he appears to be a complete player.
If the NBA draft goes as expected, he will be in good hands in San Antonio. Head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the best and most experienced NBA coaches. He has been coaching the Spurs since 1996, and has shaped superstar players like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He has won the NBA title five times with the Spurs.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James raves about young Victor WembanyamaImage: Luis M. Alvarez/AP/picture alliance
And nothing fazes the 74-year-old, not even the hype surrounding Wembanyama. The player himself also seems keen to stay composed. "It's a great honor to have so many speak of me in such high terms. But nothing has changed for me. I haven't achieved anything yet," Wembanyama said.
Wembanyama: "Wants to exceed expectations"
At 16, Wembanyama made his professional debut with top-tier French club Nanterre 92 outside of Paris. In his first year, he was named the best young player in the league. Most recently, he has played for Metropolitans 92 in Boulougne. .
But now he is leaving the tranquility of the French league for life in the ever-present spotlight of the NBA. There he wants to present offer his best side from day one. "I need to make my skills more variable so people don't get bored. I want to exceed expectations," said Wembanyama, the new "alien" in the US.
The NBA's top 10 scorers
In an LA Lakers regular season loss, LeBron James made history when he became the first ever NBA player to score over 40,000 career points.
Image: Ashley Landis/AP Photo/picture alliance
LeBron James (40,077)
LeBron James is widely considered one of the best players ever and on March 3, 2024, he lay a further claim to be considered the greatest ever when the four-time NBA champion and MVP became the first ever to score 40,000 NBA points. In his 21st NBA season, the 39-year-old set the record in an LA Lakers loss to the Denver Nuggets.*(as of 19.11.24)
Image: Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo/picture alliance
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points)
For nearly 39 years, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the leading scorer in NBA history, thanks in large part to his legendary sky hook. Abdul-Jabbar, who was born as Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, and changed his name after he converted to Islam in 1971, played for just two teams, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers between 1969 and 1989. He played in the NBA all-star game 19 times.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Press
Karl Malone (36,928 points)
Karl "The Mailman" Malone played 18 seasons for the Utah Jazz before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. He never won an NBA championship but he was a member of the US "Dream Team" that won Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992. Bronze statues of Karl Malone and the guy who usually fed him the ball, John Stockton, stand outside of the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Kobe Bryant (33,643 points)
The shooting guard spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, leading his team to five NBA titles. In 2006 Bryant scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest single-game total after Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in a 1962 game. At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant was the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points.
Image: picture-alliance/EPA/L. Nicholson
Michael Jordan (32,292 points)
Michael "Air" Jordan was picked third overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA draft. He would have scored many more points had he not interrupted his career with two retirements; in 1993 and 1999. During his first retirement from basketball, during which his No. 23 was retired by the Chicago Bulls, Jordan played minor league baseball. He ended his career with the Washington Wizards in 2003.
Image: Getty Images
Dirk Nowitzki (31,560 points)
Who would have thought that a kid from Germany's second division would make it to the NBA, let alone become a superstar? Drafted by Milwaukee Bucks in 1998 and then immediately traded to Dallas, Nowitzki became a legend at the Mavericks, securing a league MVP in 2007 and a championship in 2011. He remains the only player in NBA history to have played for one franchise for 21 seasons.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Smith
Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points)
Wilt Chamberlain played 14 seasons in the NBA, turning out for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. While playing for Philadelphia, the center set a single-game record of 100 points in a 1962 game against the New York Knicks. Prior to his NBA career "Wilt the Stilt" played a season with the Harlem Globetrotters.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images
Kevin Durant (29,172)*
Durant was named MVP in the 2014 season playing for Oklahoma City, but didn't win his first title until he joined Golden State, where he won in 2017 and 2018. He then moved to the Brooklyn Nets for four years, but mostly battled injury. Since early 2023, he has played for the Phoenix Suns and entered the top 10 scorer list in early December 2023.*(as of 19.11.2024)
Image: David Zalubowski/AP/picture alliance
Shaquille O'Neal (28,596 points)
Listed at 2.16 meters tall (7 foot 1) and 147 kilograms (325 pounds), Shaquille O'Neal was one of the biggest men ever to play in the NBA. The center was drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic and went on to play for them and five other teams over a 19-year career. In 2000 Shaq became one of just three players to win the awards as NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP in the same year.
Image: picture-alliance/Pressefoto Ulmer
Carmelo Anthony (28,289 points)*
Anthony is one of the best players never to win an NBA championship. Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, he led the team to the playoffs for six straight years. He later played for the New York Knicks, where he scored a career-best 62 points in one game. He has played for a handful of other teams and the 38-year-old was most recently on the LA Lakers. *(as of 08.02.23)
