Victor Wembanyama Predicted Over Luka Doncic for High NBA Honor

Wembanyama, 21, averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.8 blocks per game in his sophomore campaign, while shooting 47.6% from the field, 35.2% from three-point range, and 83.6% from the charity stripe.

Wembanyama was well on his way to becoming the youngest Defensive Player of the Year winner in NBA history before his season was cut short after he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis.

Best NBA player in five years?

ESPN's Tim Bontemps recently polled 20 NBA coaches, scouts, and executives, asking, "Who will be the best player in 2030?" To minimal surprise, Wembanyama won the poll by a wide margin, earning 16 of 20 possible votes.

There were three other players to receive votes for this question, with Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic finishing second with two votes, while OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum each got one.

"For consecutive years, Wembanyama was the runaway winner in this category, with the only real question being how long that streak continues. While Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic also picked up votes, the most interesting one was for Tatum, who obviously will miss this entire season after tearing his right Achilles in May," Bontemps wrote.

Of course, the other three players on this list deserve some love in this category, as a case could be made for each of them.

Luka Doncic undoubtedly has a case if he can get back to his best while in Los Angeles. The trade from the Mavericks to the Lakers certainly threw the superstar off last season, and he was dealing with some injuries, but he could arguably be the best player in the NBA next season.

Of course, if Wembanyama stays on the path that he is on and continues to improve year-to-year, he is expected to be on another tier than everyone else by 2030.

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