Paul Pierce on Victor Wembanyama, “This is the best basketball player… the most complete player we’ve ever seen play the game.”
Kinda just hit me that Wemby is basically a 6 inch taller version of KG with a 3 ball
Biblically accurate KG
KG injected with Super serum
Super Sayain KG?
The Charizard to KGs Charmeleon
V1 KG
KG if he realised he could take 1 step backwards on all of his long 2s
KG did not have his handles lol
Wemby has better handles for sure but feel free to google “KG vs team USA practice” if you don’t think prime KG had a bag. If anything Wemby is flashier but also gets stripped more often
We talkin about practice?? Not.. not the game. But PRACTICE???
did you use AI to generate this
People downvoting did not get the joke lol
Took me a minute but it is indeed AI that generated that
It’s early I’m slow today but I’m up now!
The AI generated itself.
What players can do in practice vs in game is different. Gobert is swishing threes in practice.
Mitchell Robinson too and in games he mostly clanks his FT’s
I’ve seen the video. I’m also old enough to watch his whole career.
Yeah KG learned his handles on a blacktop, Wemby learned his handles in the French academy.
The best handles were learned on the blacktop.
I dunnoe what you’re bragging, but KG looks hella awkward during that video. Like it’s still great for a 7 footer, don’t get me wrong, but Wemby is dribbling like KD at 7 foot 4. Its not comparable.
Dude was going between Jabari Smith’s legs in his first ever game. Lmao.
Lmao his handles weak as hell in that video 😂😂😂
Wemby seems way faster. I should re-check young KG.
Fuck it. Young KG highlights
https://youtu.be/BjqEmsGTTHg?si=IMHurgSt0x3mjL6N
Edit: This isn’t to say that KG is a more complete player than Wemby. Wemby’s bag and ceiling is insane. I think he will be the best player since LeBron if he stays healthy.
It’s more to show that young KG was an insane athlete, and probably quicker than Wemby. KG’s defensive timing and ability to keep the ball in play was absolutely crazy as the cherry on top.
Believe it or not, you can carry even more now than you could 20 years ago.
KG played point guard for wolves against Lakers after Chauncey Billups injury in playoffs. At the time he had some of the best handles for a big man.
True, but he did not have Wemby’s handles
so basically a 2 ft taller Muggsy Bogues
Muggsy was so fun to watch. There’s a cool card with Kevin Garnet standing next to a Muggsy cutout. I think it’s like a ‘96 Collector’s Choice.
Muggsy is probably top 5 most gifted player in any sport. The things he could do at his size, and for as long has he did it is insane.
Demetrious Johnson is a similar type of dude. Arguably the best MMA fighter of all time but at 5’3” he wasn’t mashing it up with the big names so isnt nearly as famous as others
He is like Davis-Durant hybrid with 4-5 plus inches.
He’s more than 5” bigger than both those dudes. He’s fucking gigantic.
Keep going I’m almost there
KG has a 3 ball he just prefers to step forward for a long 2. If he played today, man will be hitting 3s on the regular.
That 22-footer from the top of the key always seemed so wasteful to me. It was pretty much automatic but why not just perfect it from a few feet further back and get the extra point?
It’s a harder shot of course, and his muscle memory isn’t built for a few extra feet.
Same reason a bunch of guys (even KD) take those mid range shots, it’s not easy or automatic to just extend your range out a few feet
And it’s not like people didn’t understand that 22-footers were low efficiency (even if the language hadn’t caught up yet). My middle school coach (PE teacher, actually) in 2004 told me long twos were the worst shot to take.
His ceiling really is undisputed GOAT.
Like healthy, maximized Wemby could be to basketball what Gretzky is to hockey where there is no GOAT debate there’s just a debate for 2nd.
Yeah, Russell has always been the undisputed defensive GOAT, but his offense was practically nonexistent (never even finished top 5 in pts/36 on his own team). Wemby’s on that level defensively, clearly above other greats like the three guys that have won 4x DPOY. But Wemby is an explosive scorer too. He’s still got some consistency issues and some holes that he needs to work on, but he’s already like 80% there on the offensive side. If he stays healthy, then what we’re about to witness from him over the next decade will be incredible.
KG + KD + 6”
He is not the shooter and scorer or perimeter player KD was. They are both skinny, but very different skill sets.
Very, very different. KD’s handles are elite and he is arguably the best shooter ever after Steph.
Damn, I didn’t even know Wemby had an extra testicle.
/s
And this mofo is 22. I have trouble sleeping at night when I imagine Wemby at 28
Really hope he makes it there healthy. There’s just something about his body that shouts athletically unsustainable but I would love to be proven wrong.
Not only is his height and length so unique, it paired with his skill set is unprecedented
So on defense you worry about him banging with other bigs (though way less than the super talls of eras past got beat up) while on offense you worry about a non-contact injury for making a wicked ball-handling misdirection move
BUT what is also unprecedented is this dude’s focus, intentionality, and intelligence- he is more familiar with the risks of his body and play style than anybody else and has been doing stuff to mitigate it for years already
Just like folks thought LeBron would wear down from his “Supreme Athletic Freak” entrance into the league, perhaps Wemby can be an exception and enjoy tormenting everyone with decades of fuckery
I guess it’s cool and tough that the NBA game is “physical,” but the league really needs to crack down on confronting talented players by committing shit tons of fouls against them.
Wemby is by far not the first. It’s how they went after Kareem. Jordan’s travails aganst the Pistons and Knicks are legendary. Shaq was just held and tackled over and over.
Another very sad one is Blake Griffin. The “league” was tired of him dunking on everyone, so it was just one cheap shot after another. Who knows if that was a reason his body gave out, but it sure didn’t help.
Overcoming that is part of the Jordan mystique, but he just as easly could have been undercut on a dunk, ended up with a destroyed knee, and had little or no career after 1988. It’s a stupid way to allow the funnest and best players to be treated.
I feel like the league is more likely to pick its favorites and give anointed stars a better whistle than it is to let other players try to injure them.
Star players don’t get pestered because the league wants that, they get pestered because it makes them less effective.
You would think, but look at the whistle Steph has gotten.
They had to nerf curry or he would be averaging 40 points a game
And they should’ve let him. Would have sent an even bigger message about basketball that it’s not only about size, but skill is truly what matters…..
😏
I agree. It’s the players response to being overmatched. But knowing that’s coming, the refs can make those calls. They can intervene to prevent it or raise the consequences.
Wemby through that elbow because the only thing people can do to stop him is engage in cheap bullshit. Same reason Jokic body checked one of the Morrises…
The incentive is for the less talented players to behave that way. Either you let it ride or change the incentives.
Curry too. Dude gets fouled without a whistle more than anyone I’ve ever seen.
I tend to disagree.
Guys close in height who ended up with knee problems all weighed like 300 lbs.
He’s also a lot quicker than a 300 lb guy. His length and speed certainly puts unique stress on his joints whenever he changes direction.
Nah look at Porzingis. He was like the Wemby before Wemby
He’s been managing his body in an unprecedented way since he was a kid. He’s had the immense privilege of having good parents and resources at his disposal. That’s what gives me the most hope for his career to go the distance. His workouts for his ankles and overall malleability are insane.
Yup. Feel the same way.
Hope he stays healthy, but wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of injuries as he gets older.
Enjoying the ride though. Dude is an incredible player to watch.
Him being really thin and not carrying a lot of weight should hopefully help him stay healthy
Less stress on his joints
Same. When though he’s killing my wolves, I really hope he stays healthy. Just a freak athlete.
There’s just something about his body
Yeah really hard to put a finger on what’s different about his body…
Reminder, this would be Wemby’s senior year of college. For perspective, here’s what some of the other all time great big men who he often gets compared to were doing at age 22:
Kareem: still in college Shaq: 2nd season, 29 ppg, 13 rpg, 2.9 bpg Tim Duncan: Rookie season, 21 ppg, 12 rpg, 2.5 bpg Hakeem: Rookie season, 20.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 2.7 bpg David Robinson: not even in the league yet
Kareem: still in college
Shaq: 2nd season, 29 ppg, 13 rpg, 2.9 bpg
Tim Duncan: Rookie season, 21 ppg, 12 rpg, 2.5 bpg
Hakeem: Rookie season, 20.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 2.7 bpg
David Robinson: not even in the league yet
So aside from Shaq, the guys he’s compared to were either still in college at this age or they were still rookies. Think about how much all those players grew between their senior years/rookie seasons and their primes. That’s how much growth Wemby still has himself.
And then for some of his modern day contemporaries, at age 22:
Jokic: second season, 16.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.9 apg Anthony Davis: 24.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg Giannis: 22.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg Embiid: year before his rookie season.
Jokic: second season, 16.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.9 apg
Anthony Davis: 24.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg
Giannis: 22.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg
Embiid: year before his rookie season.
Think about how much those guys grew between age 22 and their prime years.
In short, we’re probably only at like 80% prime Wemby right now.
AD really had a much higher ceiling than he ended up hitting, my God
And the level he did hit was still one of the best players in the league for a couple years.
People kind of forget how good Anthony Davis was coming into the league because he’s spent most of his career banged up. I don’t think we ever actually got to see his best self, and he’s still great.
Holy hyperbole.
His peak was a all time defensive big while being a 1a/1b finisher on offense on a championship team.
Short prime? Sure. But not that far from expectations in terms of ceiling
he was busy okay
I have trouble sleeping worrying about his health at 28
Until then, the worries about his health are only hypothetical. Both him and his team clearly have rigorous programs in place that are probably only topped by LeBron. He is clearly conscious of the concerns around his height which is why, barring freak incidents, he may not be injury prone, at least until after his prime
I haven’t seen a player change the game so much with his presence since shaq. Will be interesting to see what teams come up with to negate his roaming around
Usually there is an adjustment to be made, I genuinely don’t think you can adjust to Wemby without tanking the rest of the guys on the floor.
His skill and length are insane assets but his strength is still his biggest hole - maybe teams start doing what they did with Shaq and pack the end of their benches with big body centers and just bang him the fuck up in the paint. You’ll get your shit swatted at an abysmal rate to start but as the game goes on he’ll be completely gassed trying to guard against so much force in the post all game. Idfk man I just read this back and it sounds like mad scientist shit but maybe that’s what you need for an alien
Except you’ll get blown out at an abysmal rate when you put end of rotation centers against Wemby lineups.
You lose by 50 but hey you slowed down Wemby for the hypothetical 4th quarter that he’s definitely totally for sure playing in.
Precisely. This doesn’t work anymore in the “weakest link era”. Teams are just too good at abusing the ever living shit out of the weakest matchup on the court and a random big body that can actually bother Wemby will simply not be a problem. Hell, Gobert is one of the more physically imposing big men in the league, he has amazing defensive instincts and yet Wemby makes him look useless.
Problem is, on the other end you are absolutely cooked if you are only putting up cannon fodder against him. As long as he is a reliable 36%+ 3pt shooter and continues to develop what is an overlooked part of his palette, that is, a smooth midrange at the elbow, this is a strategy which might wear him down on defense, but is a hard no on the offensive side.
Big difference compared with the Big Aristotle.
Not even just him but how he can space the floor and put the slower big man in trouble when the rest of the team attack the paint will kill em. The guards around him will punish that
He can literally blow by people from the perimeter in two steps. Slow bigs have no chance if they want to contest his 3, which means you’re really just praying that he’s cold.
You’re not wrong. His conditioning still needs some work and it’s something you see again and again when teams are physical with him that later in the game he’ll get gassed and stop hitting shots. Obviously there’s still a long road to get there, but if we end up with a Spurs-Knicks Finals, Mitchell Robinson is going to be a problem for Wemby.
Wish we got more non-crippled Embiid vs Wemby matchups - obviously Wemby has improved a lot since 2024 but it’s still just 2 years removed from Embiid dropping a 70/18/5 bomb on his head. Or heck, if we’re daydreaming, I wonder how the AD-Boogie twin tower Pelicans from years ago would have played him. There’s just such a dearth of truly athletic, strong as fuck, all-NBA caliber Cs right now and its a shame bc it would be fun to see if that actually is a truly exploitable weakness of his.
Embiid dropping a 70/18/5 bomb on his head
You’re thinking about Zach Collins
I think offensively you’re right but he has enough fantatic play around him that it mitigates this concern imo. The bigger issue for teams against him will always be “how the fuck do we score” he prevents so many shots just being in the game an the has the length and size to be everywhere, everything, all at once. IMO he is still just above average on offense but his defense is the bigger concern
Honestly he’s already improved at strength, gained 25 lbs of muscle and probably can’t add too much more. Randle and Naz could knock him off his spots last year and earlier this season, this whole series they haven’t been able to. Wemby was taking every hard bump and shoulder they hit him with and is still blocking or messing up their shot and still get to the basket.
U need a stretch 5 to limit his ability to roam
That’s the only reasonable answer. Make him pay for leaving his guy open on the elbow or the perimeter.
The problem with that is on the other end of the court Wemby is scoring on that stretch 5 at an incredible high percentage.
So over time that stretch 5 misses twice from 3 in a row and the spurs score 2 times quickly you lose the advantage.
That’s why you just go out and get a stretch 5 DPOY, aka another Wemby to counter the first one.
Oscar?
It’s not just a stretch 5 - you need 5 shooters. Can’t have anyone on the floor that they’re okay giving a decent look to from beyond the arc or they’ll just rotate defensive assignments so Wemby can still defend the rim.
I think there’s some matchup stuff you can do honestly. I agree with the comment below that just throwing bodies at him to exhaust him will probably work, especially someone stronger than him who can get him off his base. When Hart guarded him this year he was really good at getting under him and making him unbalanced. Having a variety of guys who can do that to tire him out may work.
Gobert and the wolves in general have a hard time matching up with him. He can sag into the paint because they don’t have the shooters or a stretch 5 to punish him for sagging off.
The last thing is just to get in his head, I don’t think you’re going to get him ejected like this again, but he can be lulled into hero ball where he takes to many threes.
he has had some of his dud games against the knicks over the past three years. But the relative success some teams have had at guarding him with undersized players was also due to the fact that for some unexplainable reason there was not much of a lob game from the Spurs. This seems to have changed this playoffs. And this is a powerful antidote if you are able to hammer those 6 footers with P&R action and lob city threats.
All in all at this stage of his career, he is a small net positive on the offense but a historic positive on defense. In order to cancel some of that, you need an army of strech 4 and 5s able to force him to leave the paint to open drive lanes. There is no other realistic way. And of course, those shooting frontcourt men are on short supply.
However, 3 to 5 years from now I’m sure we will see more and more shooting 5s come into the league, which will have been inspired by Jokic and Wemby’s play from a young age and modelling their games as such. Resistance is on the way.
Steph…yiu had to scheme against him and it still didnt work.
Only on one side of the ball. Wemby & Shaq are players you had/have to account for on both ends
Shaq wasn’t that dominate defensively
2000 Shaq which is considered his peak was pretty dominant defensively
Peak Shaq would feel disrespected if you even try to flex near the rim against him
Uhh Steph completely changed the game cmon now
Nah dude it’s basically been no one since Shaq teams have had to game plan against. Defintely not the greatest three point shooter the league has ever seen, that’s just ridiculous.
LeBron?
Prime Shaq built for the three point era is the closest analogy I keep coming up with as well. The only other player I’ve ever seen make other NBA players look as unsure of themselves as wenbenyama does.
Prime Shaq or Prime Hakeem?
Both would absolutely feast in today’s game.
Curry?
lmao you dont know ball then.
steph
3pt shooting big like Chet, KAT, and Naz Reid when Finch figures out his small ball lineup
I’m curious how point KAT offense would do against Wemby. If Wemby has to play at the three point line then there should be more opportunities to score near the basket. If they switch off and have someone else cover KAT, he’d need to be close in height to consistently challenge shots
That has been his biggest weakness on the defensive end. Other bigs with range. However, we have done a good job adjusting and having someone like Barnes or Carter Bryant pick them up on the perimeter so Wemby can roam.
Yeah the 5 out offense with good shooting is what you have to do. It’s going to be interesting if Shai is ultra efficient from the mid range against yall. That’s one way to combat it but I bet you throw a lot of doubles at SGA to counteract this. Then the question becomes can the Spurs double SGA effectively and rotate while still allowing Wemby to roam and protect the paint. That might all come down to whether the Thunder role players can hit the 3.
I think the other story will be how effective the Spurs are in their quick transition offense vs how much the Thunder can score off turnovers. Also will the Spurs shooters be able to hit their shots because the Thunder will give up the threes.
I’d put Steph up there too. In terms of guys changing the game with their presence.
At least with Shaq you know what he’s going to do. You can’t stop it because he’s Shaq. With wemby you never know if he’s gonna drive in or pull up 3 in your face.
Talk shit about Brandon Sanderson novels until he elbows you and gets ejected I guess
They can’t because this isn’t a superstar without any help. This is a superstar who has 2 franchise altering lottery picks next to him. Even if they find a way to guard Wemby, he’s going to have help
why does every topic of discussion in this sport focus on superlatives goddamn
That is what our attention span only allows nowadays, unfortunately
Nothing but absolutes and superlatives can break into the patrickdroolingface.jpg brain rot heads of most people nowadays
That’s all this sub does… it gets the clicks
Also, Wemby hasn’t even won the championship yet, let alone the current series
the league is so focused on the goat, being the first option and star heavy play. factor in jersey retirements and rejection of squad rotation and depth this is where we end up. it fucking sucks because if wemby disappears in 3 years all these discussions will be so silly and will get clowned on
It does unfortunately. Yet still, in this rare case, Paul might be right.
It’s how people talk now in general. Everything is sensationalized
So true. I want to know who the most average player in the league is.
I still don’t think he’s a more complete player than Bron
Because hes not
He’s not. He might be one day. His handles at 7’4” are good, but it’s still a limitation against guards that can get close. And this is from a guy that loves Wemby.
He’s even said he has trouble with smaller strong defenders rather than bigs.
I think he may end up a more impactful player than Bron or anyone else to ever play the game, but I can’t see him ever being as “complete”. The gap in playmaking is far too great, LBJ is one of the best passers of all time.
if he ends up being more impactful than lebron let alone everyone else, then my god would that be something
that being said, i think he has absolutely no chance…to even say he may while technically true is such recency bias as is the rest of this thread (along with ridiculous lebron slander)
Yeah but you know Paul would never say such a thing 😂
Accurate statement.
He’s not. He could be but people are jumping the gun big time right now
Genuine question: what is lacking? What isn’t as complete as Lebron was at his age?
Durability, and stamina. In their age 20-22 seasons LeBron played almost twice the minutes. Injuries are the curse of the big man, and LeBron is an anomaly when it comes to staying healthy
At his age, nothing. But people factor in LeBron’s IQ over time.
the potential is definitely there but “most complete ever” this early is wild
what makes wemby special is that he does things at his size that honestly shouldn’t be possible but to enter that all time conversation he still needs years of consistency, playoff success and durability
Yea but that’s exactly what makes him arguably the “most complete”. Smaller players will never get bigger, and bigger players can’t play like wemby.
The way I look at it is that when we were all younger, in 2k we’d all create a 7’6 player who could do everything (ball handle, shoot 3s, post up, lockdown defense, etc.) because we viewed that as the “perfect player.”
In my opinion, Wemby is the closest we’ve ever seen to that mythical creation.
nobody is talking about his place on the greatness rankings, that will take time and accomplishments.
we are just talking about what we are seeing with our eyes right now and the level of impact he is having right now.
These same dudes acting like they don’t get what Pierce is saying were the same one’s making 7’5 demigods in 2k lol
“He was born next to a nuclear power plant…”
LeBron will never get the respect he deserves lol
I’ve seen Paul give LeBron his flowers. I think it’s just a lot of times people are prisoner of the moment lmao.
PP has always thrown shade Bron’s way.
yea the chosen one is really hurting for recognition
Lebron fanboys always on these posts acting like these are slights to him
it’s ridiculous lol
3 Thunder fans crying in this thread already lol
It’s every thread at this point
They’re right, to be fair. Wembanyama hasn’t done anything yet, it’s way too soon
Every thunder fan and executive would trade SGA for Wemby. End of story
Even as a Spurs fan, no they would not.
Ignoring the age factor in that, SGA isn’t the most complete player ever either
I would not, SGA seems relatibely healthy, Wemby the type of player you really don’t know how his body is going to hold up for a long time.
People are definitely too quick to call him the best in the world. If he wins the title, sure. But right know he hasn’t won anything and I don’t fully trust his offense… yet.
Give it another 2 years and he’s probably consensus best player in the league
Needing to win a title to be given individual accolades is so dumb. It’s going to be even dumber once OKC/Spurs dominate the title for years and everyone else in the league is considered trash because they can’t win a title.
He doesn’t have to have that great of an offense his defense is literally that good.
lol he will absolutely need a great offense if he ever wants to win a title.
You aren’t getting called the best play in the world just because of defense.
People were calling Jordan the greatest player they’ve ever seen play before he ever won a championship. Wemby is at that level for me. He’s doing things on both ends of the floor that have never been done before and he is surprisingly polished for his age. Like, he is Jordan’s age during his rookie year right now.
Wembanyama hasn’t done anything yet
Really? Despite only being in his 3rd year, he led his team to 60 wins, was just the unanimous DPOY, and was also 25 ppg scorer.
Sure, he hasn’t won a championship yet (which is not surprising because, again, only his 3rd year), but he’s clearly already an elite 2-way player.
I don’t understand why every Wemby related thread is like this. They are the defending champs and the favorites to repeat but they spend all their time focused on Wemby it’s so weird. Wemby being great doesn’t take anything away from them.
It’s pretty easy to understand. Most threads about OKC are downvoted down to zero or reported so many times by users that they’re automatically removed. That happened to most posts after game four vs. the Lakers.
Meanwhile, every other thread about Wembanyama is about how he’s the GOAT already and about his ethical means of attempted decapitation. It makes sense to get annoyed if it’s the team you root for
Yeah frankly I totally get it. This sub gets really circlejerky about the players they love and players they hate.
Right now, Wemby is the golden boy getting glazed constantly, while SGA/the Thunder are the villains getting slandered constantly. I’d be annoyed if I were a Thunder fan too.
The sub just goes to extremes in either directions to an absurd level.
Check their subreddit and see how obsessed they are with us. Literally every single game we’ve played, they create multiple threads about it. I’ve never seen a more insecure fanbase, especially when they’re already the defending champs lmao.
There’s barely any OKC flairs in here and most of them are relatively positive or just pointing out LeBron exists? It’s weird that this type of comment is so common in every post
Best skillset? Maybe.
Best player of all time? Not even fucking close.
Pierce really ain’t even saying that just said most complete which is pretty valid
def not. he is far less polished than many of the greats and makes up for it with length. that doesn’t say complete to me
and those greats are incomplete because… they don’t have his length. i don’t think you understand the argument
and wemby isnt nearly as offensively consistent as any of the all time greats. he’s not there yet
It’s weird how people want to act like being taller hasn’t always been better in basketball.
Like 5’8” LeBron is dominating your LA Fitness. 6’6 Shaq is Big Baby.
Basketball has always been about skills/athleticism at a given size and due to the nature of the game taller is always better all things being equal.
I think what he meant based on this context is that on paper, this is the best basketball player you could ever “build” without going into Looney Tunes territory.
Wemby is one hundred percent in Looney Tunes territory.
Lots of Wemby glaze in these comments. Let’s not anoint him. He’s not dominating consistently yet like the greats, he had 11 points in game 1.
Maybe, but it takes a lot of things to go right especially health. LeBron and MJ were super durable.
I ain’t signing that
Your comment reminded me of Ross Andersen’s article Is Victor Wembanyama Too Tall?
he is by far the most unique and terrifying player of all time
“In the parlance of sports fandom, Wembanyama is a freak. He ranks among the most unusual-looking players to ever grace a basketball court. Even in a league populated by giants, he is preposterously lanky at 7 foot 4 inches and 235 pounds.”
“Every professional athlete is an extreme outlier in terms of their body type, skill, ability, or all three. NBA teams seek out men of monumental stature; some 300 players in the league have been at least 7 feet tall. But even in this context, Wembanyama stands alone. Most 7-footers have been used as shot blockers; when they scored, it was almost always due to their extreme size. Wembanyama has mastered the skill sets of much smaller players. He can dribble through his legs; once I even saw him dribble through the legs of his defender. He can fluidly pull up and shoot from well behind the three-point line. It’s not a stretch to say that Wembanyama moves better with a basketball than anyone ever has at his height. ‘In all other instances, a 7-footer dribbling the ball up the court means that something has gone wrong,’ the author and Spurs fan Shea Serrano told me. But when Wembanyama dribbles, Serrano finds it ‘good and right and holy.’”
“Wembanyama may possess preternatural grace for someone of his size, but he is still a coltish presence on the court. He seems to have stolen a taller man’s legs. Much of what he does comes easily on account of his enormous size, like a teenager having his way with a younger sibling’s Fisher-Price hoop. In a half-court offense, Wembanyama is never more than two (giant) strides from the basket, and when he arrives, he needs just a bunny hop to bring his forehead even with the rim. He can catch a lobbed ball with his back to the basket and execute a reverse dunk before he lands. For anyone else, these alley-oops would be spectacular, highlight-reel plays. For Wembanyama, they look like chin-ups.”
That is why I’m starting my make wemby shorter and basketball fun again petition.
“Wembanyama, the league’s most promising young player, is only 21 years old and he’s French, but I don’t hold either of these things against him. Nor do I resent him for playing for San Antonio, a rival of my beloved Lakers …. As a player, though, he leaves me unmoved.”
“As every sports marketer knows, identification is at the core of fandom. It is easier for us to bask in the glow of a great player if we can imagine ourselves executing their moves. Brands that endorse athletes count on people to buy into this fantasy of attainable greatness; they come right out and say so.”
“But it’s difficult for anyone to imagine doing the things that Wembanyama does, because he plays the game at such a high altitude. No normal person could ever match the skills of smaller NBA players either, but that fantasy is more accessible. Steph Curry, the league’s all-time record holder for three-pointers, has a degree of eye-hand coordination that is at least as freakish as Wembanyama’s height. But because Curry is just 6 foot 2, and I am nearly that, I can at least delude myself into thinking that with enough practice, I, too, could hit some of the shots that he does. It’s no accident that Curry, Michael Jordan, and other players whose physiques more closely resemble the everyman’s tend to have more fans, and more signature shoe lines. We look at Jordan and pretend that we can be like Mike.”
Wheelchair P didn’t see the post the other day about LeBron playing at least one season (50+% of games) at every position.
Wemby is incredible and I want him to stay healthy and play for a long time….
…but “most complete player we’ve ever seen” is a stretch for a 22 year old.
Who am I to disagree with Paul Pierce but can we pump the breaks a little bit on the best player ever stuff? Wemby still needs to learn how to keep his cool in playoff games let alone have the longevity and accolades needed to be in that conversation.
People are so desperate to be on Wemby’s nuts when he hasn’t accomplished a god damn thing in the nba to put him in this convo.
It’s actually crazy. Even the announcers in the game were going overboard, he threw a terrible behind the back pass out of bounds on a fast break and the announcers were like “Wow… can you imagine if he connected with that? What vision”
I literally had to laugh, like Wemby is great but people are bending over backwards to praise terrible play lol. What are we doing
I’m confused how winning NBA DPOY is not an accomplishment, explain?
I think Wemby has accomplished more than one god damn thing in the NBA. He’s currently leading his team to a 3-2 lead in the second round of the Western playoffs in his second year, when he won unanimous DPOY. Besides, PP wasn’t saying “based on his history of success he’s earned the right to be called,” he’s saying “this guy can do everything on a court in a way we’ve never seen”
most complete ? that would have to be lebron. Wemby still struggles consistency wise on the offensive end
Love The Truth and don’t want to come as a Wemby hater because i’m really not, but my brother in Christ he’s played 181 games
He can’t even control his body properly how is he the most complete player 😭
What’s the cope gonna be if OKC wins?
We were a year away!
They weren’t supposed to be here this early
He’s not calling Wemby the goat. He’s saying there’s nothing he can’t do.
Win something
Every day the same in the moment bombastic quotes
I gotta disagree. Coming from a Spurs fan. I think LeBron is the most complete player ever. Lebron has an answer to almost everything. Generational passer, can take over a game, when younger could guard (not a DPOY but could give you positive minutes), and can absolutely carry a team on his back, and be clutch.
Wemby is too young to say he is the most complete player. I do think he’s already essentially the GOAT defender as a raw talent, I do think he has a offensive bag and is a decent passer, but he isn’t LeBron.
I do think he can end up being a more complete player, primarily because if he averages 25 ppg, close to 10 rebounds and 5-6 assists, and shit 3-5 blocks a game, I think that’s a more complete player stat wise than LeBron.
He has the room to do it, but LeBron is a more complete player.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing when he’s out there. He impacts the game at the same level as prime Jordan and Lebron. Highest defensive ceiling of all time, and you can’t guard him.
PP waiting for Wemby to poop himself to really become the GOAT
I doubt this would be said if the guy wasn’t 7’5
LeBron: “Why did he say fuck me for?”
Not since Wilt Chamberlain has “The Tallest Player is the best player in the game”
Kareem in 71 and 74?
I’m a LeBron Stan, but I’m also a man who does not want to gate keep the next generation of ballers. Like so many old heads do.
Right now, at this moment, he reminds me so much of Shaq. Completely different players but like Shaq in his prime you literally can’t do anything with Wemby when he’s rolling.
Of all the basketball players of all time (so far) he seems like the most ‘complete’ human being - by far. Skilled, tough, smart, beautiful, extensive world travels and has lived in the 3rd world for long periods, speaks multiple languages, tactical firearms training/enthusiast, dancer, film/arts school, actor, outdoorsy, etc.
You can tell he genuinely has his shit together, like he could probably be a millionaire running just about any business, if he wanted.
Are there any other basketball players that impressive?
The scariest thing is that this is basically the worst version of him we will ever see