As much as Victor Wembanyama is linked with fellow San Antonio Spurs legends Tim Duncan and David Robinson around the city in which he now plays, he's often compared to LeBron James globally.
Quite the compliment for a 19 year-old who just played his 21st NBA game.
The once-in-a-lifetime prospect could face the last man described the same way twenty years ago for the first time on Wednesday night when the Spurs host the Los Angeles Lakers. Following Tuesday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks, James, who's been dealing with a nagging calf issue, said he'll see how he feels in the morning before deciding if he can play in San Antonio.
LeBron James bestows Victor Wembanyama the nickname ‘The alien'
It's been more than year now since the ‘King's' coronation of Wemby as “an alien.”
A night after Wembanyama's 37-point performance in a showdown against fellow highly touted prospect Scoot Henderson in October 2022, James shared his thoughts on the 7'4 big man.
“Everybody's been a unicorn over the last few years, but he's more like an alien. No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor, ” the all-time great said on October 6, 2022.
Wembanyana believes the ‘Alien' tag was born that night.
“I think so,” this past summer's top overall draft pick responded when asked if James came up with the nickname, “I think he might have been the first one.”
The French phenom has since said he prefers the moniker over ‘Unicorn,' because as he puts it, there are several ‘Unicorns' but only one ‘Alien.'
The generational tie between Victor Wembanyama and LeBron James
One is from France and the other from a relatively small city in the US's midwest. One is tall and lanky while the other is built like a quarterback's worst nightmare. But through those differences comes a combination of size and basketball skills that teams, let alone fans, had never seen before.
Players as physically imposing as James aren't supposed to see the court the way he does. They're not meant to play around the perimeter and they're not meant to exhibit such athleticism when steamrolling toward the basket.
Centers aren't supposed to dribble between their legs at the three-point line, much less bring the ball up on a fast break. Catching and shooting in a smooth motion shouldn't look so effortless for someone standing 7'4 and such a stroke hardly ever looks so pure.
Wemby revealed the two haven't talked since he entered the league. That will likely change this week with the Lakers visiting the Spurs for back to back games Wednesday and Friday.
Comparing Victor Wembanyama to LeBron James so far
Through his first 21 games in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama is averaging 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game. At that same point of what's become among the most legendary careers in sports history, LeBron James was averaging 16.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game.
The generational prospect side-by-side edge goes to the player who's still a prospect. You can bet he's very much looking forward to that first conversation with the future Hall of Famer.
“He's somebody that must have a lot of good advice, a lot of knowledge, probably the most knowledge out of every player in this league so he's definitely someone that I could learn some stuff from.”
“Of course,” Wemby answered when asked if playing against James means a little bit more. As the rest of the world anticipates their first ever match up, it'll serve as a surreal moment for a young man whose game can often be described that way.
“He's an icon. He's somebody, as a kid, you see on TV all the time, and, of course, it's going to feel even more special.”
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