Victor Wembanyama is one of the best prospects the NBA has seen in years and the San Antonio Spurs were lucky enough to win the lottery to draft him last summer.
Even though the Spurs’ roster as a whole needs work, they have a future superstar to build around in Wembanyama. The 20-year-old has already shown flashes of what he can become, combining his unique length and athleticism with skill that isn’t usually there for a big man.
One person who has already been impressed with what he has seen from Wembanyama is former Los Angeles Lakers great Metta World Peace. In a recent appearance on FanDuel TV’s ‘Run it Back’, World Peace made a bold proclamation that Wembanyama will eventually break Wilt Chamberlain’s single-game scoring record:
“[Victor Wembanyama] is the closest to Wilt [Chamberlain] that we’ll ever see. You got to remember, Wilt averaged 13 points his first year and 20-plus rebounds. But I think this kid is gonna beef up, he’s gonna get better and he’s going to run into a Detroit Pistons from this year, or the Clippers from 20 years ago, and he going to go get 101 at some point in time in the next seven years. He’s gonna for sure catch a rhythm where some rookie that can’t guard, don’t know how to deny, can’t backdoor, making a ton of mistakes and boom, 101 piece, averaging 40. I think you’re gonna see it from the kid.”
This is obviously a very bold claim from World Peace, but not something that is too far-fetched considering the rate at which teams and players score in today’s NBA.
Another Lakers legend in Kobe Bryant came the closest to Chamberlain’s 100-point game when he scored 81 against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. In recent years, a few other players in Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard have all scored 70-plus.
Wembanyama still has a lot of developing to do before he can get on that level as a scorer, but the sky is certainly the limit for the French big man and it will be fun to watch him try to reach his potential.
Victor Wembanyama studied Anthony Davis before coming to NBA
Wembanyama is definitely a unique prospect, although someone who came in to the league with a similar build, skillset and potential was Anthony Davis, who is now a future Hall of Famer with the Lakers.
After the two squared off for the first time in the NBA, Wembanyama revealed that he studied Davis before coming over to the league, something that should only help develop his game even more.
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