Former NBA player John Salley is just like all basketball fans when it comes to the anticipation of San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama's debut in the league. For Salley, Wembanyama can be a real game-changer, as the young man from France has Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s ceiling but with the skills of a guard.

“Oh yeah I’m a fan! And this is why: I’m a fan because he’s coming in from France. I’m a fan because he’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s height; nowhere close to the talent of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s talent however, but some of his skill sets are that of a shorter fella. So the fact that he can build on to it and he got here early to do it changes everything,” Salley said during a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.

Salley also spoke about the hype surrounding the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and how it compares to that of the top pick in the draft 20 years ago, who is still in the league in the form of no other than LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“No. I only see… and LeBron was an incredible phenom and I literally apologized to LeBron because I thought that Carmelo Anthony should have been the number #1 pick and I love Carmelo but LeBron proved to be The King and I was like, Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. ‘Maybe I should’ve waited and saw him [LeBron]'… but when I see a guy like Victor, I start thinking once he gets stronger — because everybody wanted me to get more muscle and my muscle is narrow and thin like the rope of a bridge. That’s what I used to tell ‘em like, ‘You don’t see no big fat ropes on a bridge, you see thin'… so I think once his body develops into this lifestyle of America — plus everybody has to pay attention that this kid is a KID. And he’s going to be thrown up against everything. So I am really going to look for him and he's in the right place being down there with Popovich too.”

Only time will tell whether Victor Wembanyama would absolutely live up to the hype, but it's hard to deny that the excitement he brings not just to the Spurs but to every basketball fan has everyone salivating for the start of the 2023-24 NBA season.