It will be a while before anyone can say with certainty that Victor Wembanayama is one of the greatest players ever. However, he continues to show flashes of potential and has many years ahead of him.
In the meantime, Wembanayama decided to join in the favorite tradition of every basketball fanatic, putting together their all-time starting five on Kevin Hart's podcast Cold as Balls. When Hart asked him who his starting five was, Wemby wasted no time.
At the one: Stephen Curry. Michael Jordan at the two. LeBron James at the three. Tim Duncan at the four. Then Shaquille O'Neal at the five. A mixture of present day with the best of the best from the 1990s.
Obviously, Curry and James are somewhat contemporaries of his, even though they started sooner than he did. Of course, most will go with Jordan for the simple fact that he is Michael Jordan. Duncan is increasingly being mentioned in people's top five list. Then of course Shaq is a standard bearer for what a dominant big man is.
It wasn't that long ago when Wembanayama was being compared to Jordan and James. That is due in part to him being a potential generational talent given his height, his international pedigree, and his versatility as a big man.
Victor Wembanayama did omit one great from his top five
While his starting five is hard to argue with, there is at least one glaring omission Wembanayama made. He didn't mention his mentor and former Houston Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon.
In September, Wembanayama posted photos of him and Olajuwon working out on social media. Also, he has given credit to Olajuwon for helping to build his strength during the offseason, along with Kevin Garnett.
Olajuwon played in the NBA from 1984-2002. In 1994 and 1995, he led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA titles. He holds the NBA record for blocked shots with 3,830. Also, he was the 1993 and 1994 Defensive Player of the Year.
Olajuwon was a 12-time NBA All-Star and the only player to win the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals, and Finals MVP in the same year in 1994.
