If Victor Wembanyama Turns Out To Be a Bust, This Is Why 😲⬇

Before stepping foot on an NBA court, Victor Wembenyama is already being compared to basketball legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James. He's the best prospect we've seen since LeBron James. I've been doing this for 20 years. I haven't seen a player like Victor, just incredibly unique with the ability to handle the ball, to pass, to shoot. He's an anchor defensively. The fact is that Wembenyama is entering the league with Hall of Fame expectations, which means that if he's a multi-time All-Star who mixes in some All-NBA selections, he will be a failure in the minds of most fans and talent evaluators. It's endlessly unfair, but it's also what's led to him being the no-doubt No. 1 pick by the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday's draft. At 7'4", his skills and makeup are off the charts. He puts on dribbling exhibitions, swats shots into the stands, and knocks down Dirk Nowitzki fadeaways at ease. But, as we know, not all players succeed to live up to expectations. Here's a look at a few areas that might end up holding him back. The major selling point for Wemby is that we've never seen a player at his height move the way that he does. But that could also be a negative. Nobody ever wants to bring up injuries. They're horrible, and we all hope Wemby has a full, healthy career. But the concerns are obvious with his 7'4 frame running the floor like a gazelle and leaping like an impala. When you ask scouts to address potential issues about Wemby, durability was the first thing they mentioned. Adding strength carefully to his frame is going to be very important. Considering he's 7'5", you want to maintain that durability and mobility that makes him so special. He played 62 games this year. He didn't miss a single contest, and that's going to be the biggest task for the Spurs is how do we make sure he's healthy for the next 10 to 15 years? Wemby played in every game for Metropolitan's 92 this season. But in the French domestic schedule, teams typically play once per week, sometimes twice. In the NBA, that's going to be bumped up to three or four games per week, occasionally five games in seven nights. Load management is surely in Wemby's future, which could affect his overall impact. There's also the issue of Wembanyama playing against bigger, stronger forwards and centers on a nightly basis in the NBA. He's already an elite shot blocker, but how will he handle more physical players? There aren't many traditional post-up centers left in the NBA, but the best way to eliminate a shot blocker is to get into his body, which you can expect many bigs to do as Wemby begins his career. Victor Wembanyama, we've not seen anything like him on a basketball floor. I said the same thing about Zion Williamson for a different reason. If Ralph Sampson was born today, that's probably what Ralph would look like. He's the number one pick, no-brainer. Wembanyama can be an all-NBA player without ever making a single three-pointer. But what takes him to the next level offensively is his ability to knock down threes, both off the dribble and off the catch, at 7-foot-4. We've all seen the one-legged three-pointers and step-backs with defenders draped all over him. When Wemby's season ended, however, he had made just 27.5% of his three-pointers on five attempts per game. The season prior, he shot 26% in 16 Pro-A games in the French League. Scouts will tell you that the low percentages should be chalked up more to shot selection than any kind of mechanical failure. They'll point to his 83% clip from the free-throw line as evidence that his threes will eventually start to fall. It's very similar to Lamelo Ball, whose 25% mark from three-point range in his 12 games with the Illawarra Hawks largely did not deter talent evaluators. And now he has developed into a 38% three-point shooter on high volume in three NBA seasons. But the fact remains, Wemby has not made his threes consistently. And if he shoots 28% in the NBA, that's going to ultimately lower his astronomically high ceiling. Again, Wemby doesn't need to make threes to have a successful NBA career. But it's a weapon that most people assume he'll have despite the numbers not necessarily backing that up. Maybe the most explosive guard in the draft is Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite. Scoot Henderson is 19 years old, he's only 6'2", but he is built like a running back and he's got a wingspan of 6'9", so he plays a lot bigger than his height. There are multiple cases throughout NBA history of No. 1 picks. Despite having solid to very good careers, being overshadowed by players selected behind them. With Scoot Henderson, a potentially franchise-altering guard, being selected at No. 2 or 3, there's a non-zero chance that Wemby could end up playing second fiddle. Most expect Wembenyama to not only be the best player in his draft class, but also potentially one of the best players we've ever seen. Meanwhile, Scoot Henderson could lose his No. 2 spot to Brandon Miller, lowering the expectations even further for someone who could be relatively close to Wembenyama in terms of talent. If Henderson becomes an all-NBA guard while Wemby struggles relative to expectations, he could be considered a disappointment through no fault of his own. But that's the downside of being such a tremendous prospect. Everything Wembenyama does will be under a microscope, and he'll constantly be compared not only to the players drafted after him, but also to the fictionalized version of him fans have conjured in their heads. Tell us in the comments, how good do you think Wemby will be in his first NBA season? And if you enjoyed this video, hit the like button, share, and subscribe. 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