Seven-foot French sensation Victor Wembanyama is the NBA’s best draft prospect since LeBron James, but his toughest test awaits, according to Australian great Andrew Bogut.
Wembanyama has the hoops world at his giant 21-sized feet, while standing at 7’3 he’s the second-tallest player to join the association since China’s eight-time All-Star Yao Ming.
Add an 8-feet wingspan that’s superior to the majority of current NBA stars, including Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and it’s easy to see why the gifted teen is already so highly rated.
Read Next
For all the justified hype, Bogut believes Wembanyama won’t have it all his way when he joins the world’s best basketball league.
“Wemby has the body and athleticism of a guy who could be a generational player, but saying that and doing it are going to be two different things,” Bogut said about Wembanyama, who is set to join the San Antonio Spurs as the No.1 pick in the NBA draft, from 10am on Friday (AEST).
“He is going to have a lot of guys going after him and he is going to have a target on his back, but he is capable and skilled, and you’ve just got to hope that he stays healthy.”
Bogut is speaking from experience.
Fresh off a decorated college career with Utah, the Melbourne big man faced expectation to perform when joined the Milwaukee Bucks as the No.1 pick in 2005.
He found the step up in class enormously taxing, despite earning All-Rookie First Team honours after averaging 9.4 points and 7 rebounds.
Bogut expects Wembanyama to overcome any rookie bumps in the road, but says the fanfare around the French phenomenon will add pressure.
The 19-year-old is already the most talked about basketballer on the planet, which will pose a challenge, especially at a club like the San Antonio Spurs.
Led by veteran coach and former air force assistant Gregg Popovich, the Spurs pride themselves on a regimented, low key and minimal fuss approach.
Wembanyama is at the other end of the spectrum.
“I’ve heard Victor is pretty outlandish with how he goes about things,” Bogut said.
“You’ve got to realise he has been touted as a generational player for two years now, so the hype around him is real.
“I’ve also heard that he has an entourage, and he is making demands already, which is fine and he has every right to.
“But he is probably going to the one club that doesn’t stand for that (type of) stuff, so I see that as an interesting dynamic.
“I think the Spurs will bend the knee a little bit for him because they have to given he is a generational player and what not, but they won’t lie down.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how that relationship, especially when times get tough, how it comes to fruition.”
Bogut likens Wembanyama to a player born out of a lab or someone you’d design on the NBA2K video game given his godlike body metrics.
These qualities will give the gun teen a decent head start, but you also can’t beat the practical experience of playing on basketball’s best stage.
Bogut certainly learnt this lesson throughout his initial years in the NBA, including a gruesome dislocated elbow injury in 2010.
“Joining the NBA is a challenge,” he said.
“It’s about fitting into the team. He looks like he is going to San Antonio, so they’ll play through him a lot.
“He is going to have good days and bad days as he tries to figure things out.
“There will be nights when he isn’t great defensively and teams will look to expose any weaknesses in his game.
“So, it’s about not getting too high or too low in your rookie year. It’s all about figuring out your ups and downs and working through that.
“I think he’ll be fine once he finds his feet, but it’s just a matter of having some bad days otherwise you’ll never learn.”
Wembanyama will get the opportunity to learn from the best in the business at San Antonio.
Head coach Popovich is one of the NBA’s greatest mentors while Bogut is tipping the club’s Australian assistant Matt Nielsen to play a key role for the rookie French star.
“Matty will probably be Wemby’s big man coach to be honest, looking at their roster and their coaches,” Bogut said about Nielsen, a current Australian Boomers assistant and two-time NBL champion with the Sydney Kings.
“He is probably the best inclined to work with him and it’s a great notch on Matty’s resume.”
The 2023 NBA draft doesn’t possess the strong Australian links of past years. There are no Aussies in the draft, but the NBL will take centre stage with two former talents in the running.
Ex-New Zealand Breakers wing Rayan Rupert has received a green room invite to attend the NBA Draft with his family while former Cairns and Adelaide guard Mojave King is expected to be a late second-round selection.
Rupert is being projected to link with Portland as the 23rd overall pick, but this could change on the day.
The Frenchman has attracted impressive reviews from NBA experts, including ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony.
“Rupert’s ability to wreak havoc all over the floor with his 7-foot-2 wingspan and high intensity level could be interesting at this stage of the draft,” Givony said.
“The Trail Blazers could be in the market for a long-armed wing with the versatility to defend point guards, which would help with their undersized backcourt.”
Bogut received close-up look at Rupert during the NBL last season, especially during Sydney’s grand final series against New Zealand.
He has no doubts the former Breaker can succeed in the NBA.
“He has got all the tools,” he said of Rupert, who averaged 5.9 points on 35 per cent shooting from the field for the Breakers last season.
“He has the size, athleticism, he moves really well, has a long stride.
“He didn’t have the greatest season in the NBL by his numbers, but he is young, and he is learning to play in a grown man’s league.
“The year that he had in the NBL is going to be invaluable for him making that jump to the NBA.”
Melbourne United superstar Chris Goulding got an up-close look at Wembanyama while playing for Paris Basketball, and saw him pour in seven of his 22 points in the last two minutes of Mets 92’s 93-85 win.
Goulding was struck by Wembanyama’s sheer size, saying the 19-year-old was “way bigger” than his 219cm listed height.
“I’m probably understating his sheer size, It’s ridiculous,” Goulding said.
“I played against Yao Ming a couple of times and it’s like that guy was the biggest human I’d ever seen in my life, enormous, massive. Victor’s the same sort of, ‘Oh my, that’s a huge human, that’s a massive person’.
“Then you see him running around and shooting and doing all this stuff that a guard does. It’s mind-boggling.”
Goulding cautioned the teen would face a vastly different challenge in the NBA.
“In France, he’s a French kid and he’s like a god over there. People are like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to get blocked by Wemby’,” Goulding said.
“In the NBA, there’s going to be people wanting to absolutely chop his head off and try and put him through the rim and they have that athleticism.
“Someone’s coming to try and put him on a poster and I’m sure it will happen, but his base layer as a rim protector and as a scorer in the open court if he’s allowed space I think you’re going to see a guy who comes in and contributes in a pretty hefty way, straight off the bat. “He could be anything.”
NBA DRAFT: PROJECTED TOP 25 PICKS
1. San Antonio Spurs
Victor Wembanyama (Metropolitans 92, PF/C)
2. Charlotte Hornets
Brandon Miller (Alabama, SF)
3. Portland Trail Blazers
Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite, PG)
4. Houston Rockets
Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite PG/SG)
5. Detroit Pistons
Jarace Walker (Houston, PF)
6. Orlando Magic
Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite, PG/SG)
7. Indiana Pacers
Taylor Hendricks (UCF, PF)
8. Washington Wizards
Anthony Black (Arkansas PG/SG)
9. Utah Jazz
Cam Whitmore (Villanova, SF)
10. Dallas Mavericks
Dereck Lively II (Duke, C)
11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago)
Gradey Dick (Kansas, SG/SF)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
Kobe Bufkin (Michigan, PG/SG)
13. Toronto Raptors
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana, PG/SG)
14. New Orleans Pelicans
Jordan Hawkins (UConn, SG)
15. Atlanta Hawks
Cason Wallace (Kentucky, PG/SG)
16. Utah Jazz (via Minnesota)
Bilal Coulibaly (Metropolitans 92, SG/SF)
17. Los Angeles Lakers
Jett Howard (Michigan, SG/SF)
18. Miami Heat
Nick Smith Jr (Arkansas, PG/SG)
19. Golden State Warriors
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara, SG)
20. Houston Rockets (via LA Clippers)
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette, PF)
21. Brooklyn Nets (via Phoenix)
Noah Clowney (Alabama, PF)
22. Brooklyn Nets
Keyonte George (Baylor, SG)
23. Portland Trail Blazers (via New York)
Rayan Rupert (NZ Breakers, SG/SF)
24. Sacramento Kings
Kris Murray (Iowa, PF)
25. Memphis Grizzlies
Jaime Jaquez Jr (UCLA, SF)
Sports reporter
Read Next
Comments
Reader comments on this site are moderated before publication to promote lively, but civil and respectful debate. We encourage your comments but submitting one does not guarantee publication. You can read our comment guidelines here. If you believe a comment has been rejected in error, email [email protected] and we’ll investigate. Please ensure you include the email address you use to log in so we can locate your comment.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Basketball News Click Here
