Victor Wembanyama arrived in the United States this week to play his first basketball games under NBA rules as his Metropolitans 92 squad faced off in a pair of preseason games with the G League Ignite in Las Vegas. The presumptive No. 1 pick in this year’s draft carried lofty expectations coming in but still left everyone who watched him awestruck with his ludicrous abilities, as evidenced by back-to-back 30-plus point games where he put his full skillset on display.
On Thursday, Wembanyama’s squad topped the Ignite after fellow top prospect Scoot Henderson left in the first quarter with a bone bruise after banging knees with Victor. Wembanyama put up 36 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks as he did a bit of everything, dominating inside and out and leaving everyone with the same question: How is anyone supposed to stop this guy?
Victor Wembanyama followed up his 37-point game on Tuesday with an equally impressive 36-point double-double in a win!
@vicw_32: 36 PTS | 11 REB | 4 AST | 4 BLK pic.twitter.com/M5dy1WpUPT
— NBA (@NBA) October 6, 2022
It’s not just fans and scouts that are baffled with what you’re supposed to do with Wemby, but current all-world NBA players can’t help but heap praise on his unique abilities. Stephen Curry called him a “2K create-a-player…with cheat codes” while LeBron James said he was a “generational” talent who does things he’s never seen on a court.
After Thursday’s win, Wembanyama was asked about James’ comments and said it was an honor, but also showed why his mentality is also appealing to scouts, as he noted he’s gotta keep a level head because he “didn’t do anything yet” in the NBA and has to keep earning it to achieve his goals.
Victor Wembanyama on LeBron’s kind words towards him. pic.twitter.com/eqV8vyV9fS
— NBA (@NBA) October 6, 2022
That speaks volumes about Wembanyama’s maturity, as it’d be very easy for him to get gassed up by all the praise he’s receiving. Instead, he knows it only matters if he backs it up and knows that’s something that can only come with time and continuing to put in the work to get better.
That combination of skill, size, and mentality is a pretty terrifying proposition, and is why we’re set for an all-time tank-off this season in the NBA as teams look to Win Nada For Wembanyama.