“And with the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Victor Wembanyama,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on the night of the draft. Although he is still only 56 games into his rookie year, there is already a real possibility that Wembanyamabecomes the greatest basketball player of all time.
Standing at 7’4”, Victor Wembanyama already has an advantage over almost every other player in the league. He is one of the tallest players to ever play in the NBA. He can reach the hoop just standing, and can dunk the ball incredibly easily. This isn’t unlike what the NBA has seen before, players such as Shaquille O’neal have also been able to dunk easily.
But what separates Wembanyama from other centers is the fact that he can also shoot the ball from beyond the 3 point line. The center in the league who is best at shooting 3s is Karl-Anthony Towns, who is shooting at 42.3 percent this year. Wembanyama is shooting 33.5 percent this year. Towns, in his rookie year, also had a similar percentage, at 34.1
Sophomore and NBA fan Maddox Susini states, “He is gonna win the rookie of the year.”
This claim is backed by the evidence. He is averaging 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game. He is leading all rookies in points per game, rebounds per game, and blocks per game, as well as being top 5 for assists and for steals. The most impressive stat out of all of these is the number of blocks. If he were to retire right now, he would have the third highest blocks per game of all time. Recently, he recorded a 5×5 game (At least 5 of all stat categories), being the youngest player to ever do so.
But what separates Wembanyama from other centers is the fact that he can also shoot the ball from beyond the 3 point line.
There has been debate online, with people saying that he will do to the 5×5 what Russell Westbook did with the Triple Double (at least 10 of 3 state categories). Westbrook averaged a triple double for an entire season, desensitizing people to seeing these insane state lines. Wembanyama has the potential, maybe not to average a 5×5, but have a statline like that often enough that it will become more common.
Susini also adds, “He’s probably going to reach the most blocks as a player if he can stay healthy.”
That is an aspect that is required for him to be the best. We see Lebron right now averaging 25 points per game in year 21. Wembanyama will need to stay healthy in order to be considered the best, seeing as that was the case with all the other greats.
And he’s doing all of this while on a minutes restriction. He is only averaging around 28 minutes a game, whereas most star players average closer to 40. This is likely due to the Spurs still trying to rebuild and trying to get a better draft pick.
Now, what will he need to actually cement himself as the greatest player ever? First, he would need to win a couple championships. At least 3, but probably more than that. Other players that have been considered the G.O.A.T. have had 3 or more titles. He will also need to finish top 10 in points all time, another commonality among the greats. Wembanyama will also have to win 3 or more MVP’s. But what Wembanyama can do which not many others have is win the DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year). Michael Jordan is really the only G.O.A.T. with a DPOY, and he only has one. Wembanyama will likely win multiple of these. If he can combine the offensive accolades with the defensive ones, then he will no doubt be the greatest player ever.
This, combined with the fact that Wembanyama will only get better from here, proves he has a case to be the greatest.
