Why The NBA Is TERRIFIED Of Victor Wembanyama

This is Victor Wombanyama at the top of the perimeter. He has a 6'8 defender right in front of him, but you know what? Wimby doesn't even see him as he calmly knocks down a practice shot. He might not be in the NBA just yet, but do y'all know what NBA superstars think of him? Well, here's Damian Lillard's thoughts. I'm happy that I ain't, you know, I'm not gonna be in the league a long time. Man, if a superstar like Dame Time is petrified at the thought of going up against someone like Wimby, what must the regular guys think? Because the truth is, it's not just Lillard. The NBA is absolutely terrified of young Wombanyama, and with that being said, let's get right into it. NBA players all have one of two objectives every game night. That's to either help their team win games, or pad their individual box score statistics. If they can do either of the two to a great degree, they'll get noticed, and that usually leads to them getting a fat contract. And who can blame them? Everybody wants a big payday. But the thing is, when you're going up against a 7'4 Wombanyama who has an 8' wingspan, I repeat, an 8' wingspan, it's gonna be kinda hard to win the game or pad your stats. It really is, and I ain't jokin'. Some of y'all might be making some mental comparisons with players like other 7'3 and 7'4 giants, and be thinking to yourselves that Wombanyama won't be that different from these guys when it comes to defense. But just stop right there, please. Just stop. Because I'm about to show you why. In today's NBA, when you're up against a great shot blocker, an offensive strategy is to take him out to the perimeter so you can attack the paint. And that's exactly what this team did. Because look, here's Wombanyama on the perimeter. The opposing team here sets a successful screen, and when the two defenders went with the screener, the attacking guard saw a clear lane to the rim. He charges in at full speed, but look at what Victor does. He realized what was going on, decided to put on a Superman cape, and from the perimeter, he quickly ran back in time to block the shot and sent the guard crashing down to the floor. Regular tactics aren't gonna work on young Wemby, because he's simply something the NBA has never seen before. Sure, there are players his height, and there have been some players taller than he is, but the thing is, none of them have his mobility. To illustrate this point, here's another play that you gotta see. Wemby's here on the perimeter, guarding the opposing team's guard. The guard does a hard pound going left, creating a bit of separation, and you know what, he did a great job too. But the thing is, Victor's mobility allows him to recover quickly, and with that 8 foot wingspan, he easily blocks the shot. Traditional strategies just ain't gonna cut it when it comes to this dude, and here's one last look you gotta see. Again, it starts on the perimeter. The opposing guy with the ball looks like he's what, 6 foot 8, 6 foot 9, so a pretty decent size. As he puts the ball on the ground, he looks real fast with a bit of explosiveness as well. At the rim, he bumps Wemby to create a bit of separation, and again, this usually is enough to get the bucket, but in this case here, he ends up on the wrong end of a highlight reel. I'm not sure about you, but in my two decades of watching the NBA, I have never seen anyone with these defensive capabilities. Never. And here's a quick NBA trivia fact. There's actually never been a rookie in the history of the NBA who's won the Defensive Player of the Year award, but if I had to bet money on someone to have the best odds, it'd honestly probably be Victor. I mean, just as Steph Curry changed the geometry of the game with his insane shooting abilities, Victor is gonna change the geometry of the game with his size and length. Anyway, next off, let's talk a bit about offense. We already know that when he has the ball under the rim, it's an automatic dunk. With his near 10 feet standing reach, dunking for him is completely effortless. But let's take a look at his offensive game when he's not at the rim. Here's Wombanyama with his back facing the rim, being guarded by what appears to be a regular 7-footer. Look at this one. One hard dribble going left, and then he elevates. His release point here looks like it's 9 feet for Pete's sake. Sheesh, that's literally unguardable in one-on-one situations. And you might be wondering, okay, but how does he perform when he's out on the perimeter? Well, you're in luck because, well, I'll just show you instead. But trust me when I say that this clip actually shocked me. And I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that I've literally never seen anything quite like this. Okay, so as you can see, Wombanyama is on the perimeter. He crosses the ball between the legs going right, then pulls it back, making it look like he was going to attempt a shot. And when the defender bid on that, he quickly drives left, jumps in the air, and reverses the ball in. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a 7-foot-4 guy breaking down an athletic wing defender from the perimeter, jumping in the air with his legs apart like Jordan, and doing a reverse layup. If you told me you saw something like this before, I'd have to call you a liar. I'm sorry. Because that's literally something we'd expect to see from Kyrie Irving, who's like, what, 6 foot 2? But instead, it's coming from a 7-footer. Sheesh, guys. You know what? Most players in the NBA have like one good trait. For example, Matisse Thibal is a great defender, but he's not the greatest offensive weapon. James Harden, on the other hand, when he was in his prime, was an example of an amazing offensive weapon, but not exactly the best defensive option. But as we all saw, Victor Wombanyama is both a spear and a shield. And on that same note, as of today, Giannis is probably the best two-way player in the NBA. He's a force on offense, and he's a force on defense. He controls the game on both ends of the court, and I'll never forget his defensive play against Aiton back in the 2021 finals. Anyway, this is another reason why the NBA is terrified of Victor Wombanyama, because just imagine, just imagine, just imagine Giannis, but 5 inches taller, with a longer wingspan, and with the ability to shoot. Everyone in the NBA repeatedly says, once Giannis develops a reliable jump shot, it's over. And that is true. Can you even imagine Giannis with a reliable mid-range shot, and the ability to shoot somewhere close to 40% from three-point range? Well, that looks like it's Victor Wombanyama. Sure, he might be a bit on the light side right now, but so was Giannis when he first entered the league. The NBA is definitely terrified of the notion of having to go up against Wombanyama. But wait, there's more to it. The race to win the 2023 No. 1 pick right now is between four teams. The Spurs, the Rockets, the Pistons, and the Hornets. Honestly, the Spurs already had Tim Duncan, and although they won five championships with him, they turned him into a boring bank-shooting robot who wasn't very exciting to watch, so I'd rather not see him there. The Rockets already had several lottery talents who could have went No. 1 like Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr., so I'd rather not see him there either. The Pistons already have Cade Cunningham and a decent roster, and while Wombanyama can definitely add to that, wouldn't it be insane to see Victor paired up with LaMelo Ball? Honestly, LaMelo Ball himself has already transformed the Hornets from being irrelevant to a pretty exciting team, but imagine adding Wimby to that mix. Sheesh, guys. If that happens, that'll probably be the best young duo in the NBA. I mean, a 6'8 point guard paired up with a 7'4 center? It sounds like it could have the potential to become Man, I'm already getting goosebumps just thinking about it. And also, if that happens, Michael Jordan might finally be detached from his reputation as one of the worst owners in NBA history.