Kendrick Perkins Makes Rashly Bold Victor Wembanyama Prediction

NBA Champion and now ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has never shied away from speaking his mind and giving out hot takes during his on-air appearances. Due to the hot start, Wembanyama has been a major talking point in the national media, and Perkins might be far more bullish on Wembanyama than others.

"15 to 20 years from now, the G.O.A.T. conversation is going to go like this: [Michael Jordan], [LeBron James], and [Victor Wembanyama]. Those are the three names that are going to come up in the G.O.A.T. conversation. Because if this man stays healthy, he's going to be, arguably, the best defensive player we've ever seen," Perkins said.

Perkins went on to say he thinks Wembanyama is going to win five or six Defensive Player of the Year awards, and that he has no flaws in his game at just 21 years old.

Does Wembanyama Have What It Takes To Reach That Status?

First of all, winning just five Defensive Player of the Year awards would give Wembanyama that most of all-time, surpassing Rudy Gobert, Dikembe Mutombo, and Ben Wallace. At the current rate he's going as a shot blocker alone, he could very well be considered the greatest shot blocker in league history within a couple of seasons.

While Wembanyama can go on to win several MVPs and earn All-NBA selections, the reality is that he will never be considered the greatest of all time if he isn't able to win several championships. Given that LeBron James has four and Michael Jordan has six, it seems like the minimum Wembanyama has to have would be three, but closer to four or five would be better.

With that comes a lot of luck and a strong team built around him. The Spurs have made promising draft selections recently with Carter Bryant, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle, but will need to continue to do so if they want to compete for titles year in and year out.

Wembanyama might have all the tools and skills to be an all-time great, but the situation around him matters just as much if he wants to get into those conversations with James and Jordan.

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