Getty Image / David Grau/Euroleague Basketball
Victor Wembanyama is a 16-year-old in France who has been under close watch by NBA analysts for longer than most teens have had chest hair. At only sixteen years old, Victor Wembanyama is already 7-foot-3-inches tall and has an even larger wingspan which measures 7-foot-10-inches.
And it’s not just his height that has been wowing scouts. He blocks shots like a pro. He can pass and move the ball with the skill of a much older and more seasoned basketball player. He’s one of those ‘the sky is the limit’ prospects and really the biggest red flag has to be his size and whether he can stay healthy and strong with such a massive frame.
ESPN NBA draft analyst Mike Schmitz tweeted this video on Sunday which shows Victor Wembanyama going 2-on-2 against NBA DPOY Rudy Gobert and this could be the future of the NBA right here. Schmitz is a bonafide NBA draft expert and he describes Victor Wembanyama as ‘arguably the best prospect in the world regardless of age’.
Here’s that two-minute Twitter clip of Victor Wembanyama that’s been going viral along with some YouTube highlights below so you can really gain a sense of how this prospect is already operating on the astral plane while the rest of us are back here on earth.
For reference, we’ve been writing about Victor Wembanyama quite regularly since April of 2018: https://t.co/iOSfgTdJ23. He was tremendous at the 2019 U16 European Championships and has continued to develop impressively with Nanterre out in France. pic.twitter.com/sMtLIslrPk
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) October 18, 2020
As you’d expect, the 16-year-old giant is putting up wild states in Europe. Here’s a highlight video the recent Adidas Next Generation tournament where he put up 18PTS, 16REB, 6BLK, 6STL in only 24 minutes.
This is one of the most-watched clips of Wembanyama on YouTube, a video that was uploaded back in January. It showcases Victor’s shooting talent and not just his size.
He needs to bulk up and I’m sure this is something he hears frequently. He’s at a developmental stage where putting on weight too fast could destroy his growing body so he needs to do so safely and gradually. I’m sure he also hears this frequently. But the dude is only sixteen and has a few years left before he’s eligible for the NBA.
The New York Knicks must have had this prospect on their radar since his pre-teens because they’ve been appropriately tanking for years to put the Knicks in the running for the top draft pick every single year until Victor Wembanyama is draft-eligible and afterward. They’re taking the early-2000’s Tampa Bay Rays approach to draft by ensuring they’re the worst team in sports every single year to stockpile draft picks and it might just work out if they win the Wembanyama lottery a few years from now.