The 300 Pound Monster Who BULLIED Victor Wembanyama…

Everyone these days, especially Greg Popovich in the San Antonio Spurs, is excited about Victor Wombanyama. The 7'4 Frenchman has completely wowed the basketball world with his unmatched mix of size, length, and skills, and he's been able to do things that no one has ever seen before. A mix of Kevin Durant and Giannis is really the best way to describe him at the moment, Well, almost. You see, years ago, he came across a certain individual who, although almost a foot shorter, wasn't afraid of the height differential, wasn't afraid of taking him in the post, wasn't afraid of nothing. In fact, if you had to ask me, I'd say that man actually bullied Wombanyama. And as a direct consequence of that bullying, it was Team USA who brought home the gold during the U19 World Cup, not France. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the story of how a 300-pound, zero-star recruit bullied the best prospect in NBA history. When I first saw Kenneth Lofton Jr., it was during one of those late-night basketball scrolling sessions. You know, like when you scroll through Instagram or YouTube looking for any cool hooping content, and what I found was a highlight clip saying that this kid was like four or five hundred pounds or something outrageous, and I honestly thought it was just a joke at first. But hey, they did a great job with the thumbnail, and I clicked it. Anyway, my first impression was that he looked a bit overweight, that he didn't look too athletic compared with his peers, and from there I assumed he didn't have a clean shot either. Was I wrong or what? He's a bit on the heavy side, yeah, but he's deceptively fast for his size, and his stroke looked as smooth as butter. And the more and more I kept watching this guy play, the more I got intrigued, and I remembered thinking to myself, man, this guy is like an unathletic but healthy version of Zion Williamson. Like, what I mean is, if you watch this guy play, just like Zion, he uses his 300-pound frame to continuously abuse people in the post, and when he decides that he's getting to the rim, nobody could stop him. I mean, they could certainly try their best, but despite the types of defenses they put on him, 300 pounds easily pushes away 99% of the competition. And that's where Victor Wombanyama enters the picture. You see, back in 2021, during the U-19 World Cup Finals, Team U.S. went up against Team France. It was supposed to be a huge matchup between Chet Holgrim and Victor Wombanyama, but unfortunately for Chet, he was outmatched against a 7-foot-4 Frenchman, and consequently, Team USA found themselves constantly trailing in points. And with a little under three minutes to go in the third quarter, France was up by eight. Wombanyama at this point could taste the gold in his mouth, but unfortunately for him, the 300-pound Kenneth Loftin Jr. had other plans. What I mean is that, in two critical possessions to close the third, Loftin Jr. went directly at Wombanyama. And despite the obvious height and reach advantage, the 6-foot-6 American did what he did best, and that's bullying whoever was in front of him. It didn't matter if he was 7-foot-4, 8-foot-4, or even 9-foot-4. Loftin Jr. was going to get to his spot, and his spot was directly under the rim. So, in this play here, he spun around Wemby and then simply used his body to get a little bit of separation for the easy high percentage bucket. In this second play, he caught the ball on the post, and despite getting blocked on his first attempt going up, he used his deceptively quick speed to go up again, and this time, he got the bucket. This momentum created by Loftin carried into the fourth quarter, where he scored even more points. And honestly, from watching the game, Loftin Jr. was the difference maker, which eventually led to Team USA winning the gold by just two points. Sheesh, guys. On a team that featured lottery picks and first-round picks like Chet Holgrim, Jaden Ivey, and Patrick Baldwin Jr., it was Kenny Loftin Jr., an undrafted player, who challenged Victor Wombanyama, and who was the most responsible for winning that final game and bringing home the gold medal. Which brings me to my next point. How in the world did this guy go undrafted? In the 2022 NBA draft, I thought for sure this guy would get picked. I mean, if not as a late first-round pick, then at least in the second round or something, right? But no. He went undrafted. And I thought to myself at the time, this is basketball blasphemy. I mean, did NBA scouts not watch the game where he carried Team USA past a French team that had Victor Wombanyama? And it's not like that was a one-off game either. Because in college, when he played for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, the dude led his team in two major statistical categories with 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds. He was also just .2 assists away from leading the team in assists as well. Anyway, Lofton Jr. eventually was picked up by the Memphis Grizzlies and was assigned to their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, where, uh, where he dominated. Just like back in college, nobody could stop him. I mean, just look here. Here's Kenneth on the perimeter. He's being guarded by Louis King, a 6'7 forward who was a 5-star recruit from New Jersey. When Kenneth decided to go downhill, there was nothing King could do to stop him. I mean, King tried his best, but Kenneth is too big, too fast, and this eventually turned into another and one play. Here's another example. Lofton Jr. is on the block here, being guarded by Siddy Sissico, a 6'8 forward who was voted by ESPN as the 3rd best European prospect in his class, behind Rayon Rupert and Victor Wombanyama. But, uh, look what happened here. Lofton Jr. just absolutely bullied his way again to the basket, used a few post moves, and got a layup in a forest of white jerseys. Man, just like Zion, this man can't be stopped physically. Anyway, these are just two of his many, many victims during his short G League career. When it was all said and done, Wombanyama's worst nightmare ended up making the All-Rookie Team, the All-NBA First Team, and was Rookie of the Year as he averaged 20 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 54% from the floor. From that point onwards, because of his accomplishments, and because of some injuries to the Grizzlies roster, the main team signed him to a multi-year deal, and you know what that means, right? Well, after the Spurs received the first draft rights to the number one pick, not only are Lofton Jr. and Wombanyama gonna be both playing in the NBA, not only are they both gonna be in the same conference, but they're gonna be in the same Southwest Division. Anyway, let's quickly get into Wombanyama's biggest rival, Chet Holgrim, and see his experience in dealing with Lofton Jr. In case you don't know who Chet is, he was the No. 2 overall pick in 2022, and just like Wemby, he's a unicorn. I mean, 7'1", with guard-like skills makes him a tough cover for anyone, but moving on here, let's take a look at when he had to defend against not height, but width. Here's Lofton Jr. at the As he dribbles towards the basket, he knocks Holgrim completely out of his way until he's literally in prime scoring position, and then from there, he lays it in while making the whole thing look easy. The same thing happens here in this play. A couple dribbles going downhill, and before you know it, Chet is out of the picture, and Lofton is getting another bucket. Can you guys see why this guy is arguably one of the biggest steals in the 2022 draft? I mean, from what I've seen so far, this dude is the ultimate weapon against the 7-foot unicorns. But moving on here. In the actual NBA, unfortunately Lofton Jr. wasn't given too many minutes yet, but man guys, in one game where he did get about 40 minutes, the man dropped 42 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while shooting 17 for 25 from the field. You know, with all the negative stuff surrounding Ja Morant and Grizzlies Nation these days, Lofton Jr. is probably the one thing they could get excited about. And here's where things are going to get a bit interesting. In 2024, the Grizzlies are going to be without Dylan Dynasty Brooks. Ja Morant is also going to be suspended for quite some time, so the team is going to be a bit depleted from a personnel standpoint. So we're finally going to see what Kenneth can do with more minutes in the NBA, and we're also going to see what he and Zion do when they face someone with a similar body type. You see, they both stand 6 foot 6, they both weigh about 300 pounds, and throughout their entire lives, I'm sure they've never met anyone quite like each other, but now they're in the same division. Anyway, what do you guys think about Lofton Jr.? Is this the biggest steal in the draft since Nikola Jokic back in 2014? Let me know in the comments down below, then go ahead and click on this video next.