Source Link: https://www.marca.com/en/basketball/nba/san-antonio-spurs/2023/10/21/65333262ca474106218b4582.html
It’s not easy to live up to the hype in professional sports, especially in the NBA where players enter the league before they’ve even fully developed and rounded out their body frames. But when a player does live up to his hype, it’s a beautiful thing.
We saw it with LeBron James: Arguably the most highly touted high school basketball player ever has turned his NBA career into pure history. Many others have failed to follow through on the promise bestowed upon them by scouts, but sometimes people just know when something is too good to fail.
Erik Spoelstra praises Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama seems to fit that mold. The super long, super tall Frenchman with playmaking, dribbling, shooting and shot-blocking ability has already made his presence felt during the preseason. A week ago, he dropped 23 points, four rebounds, four assists and three blocks on the Miami Heat. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra took notice.
We’ve seen the footage, we’ve read about him, we’ve heard what everybody said about him. But until you actually see it, live, in person, there’s no real way to describe it.
Wembanyama’s dunk over Thomas Bryant was the play that had everyone perking up their eyebrows, Spoelstra included: “You don’t really see that every night, that’s for sure“.
“Wemby” is yet to play in a regular season NBA game, but his talent and widespread acclaim are already front and center for the 19-year-old. There will be growing pains, literally and figuratively, but Wembanyama is clearly different than anyone who came before him.
