We’ve always had Wembanyama #1 on our draft boards, mainly on the strength of the defensive tools. I had some criticisms about the 3-point shooting coming into the season. When everyone was losing their minds specifically about the three-point shooting being so great we did pushback. While I still believe those criticisms were fair (he has upped his shooting to 32.1% from three after being a 27% guy the rest of his career) who cares now. The three-point shooting is fine, 32% is passable, but it’s everything else he is doing at an insane elite rate that we need to talk about now.
Wembanyama no longer has a true shooting under .500% anymore, a negative net rating, and a pedestrian PER. He’s now putting up elite productions as you would expect for the amount of all-time best-prospect hype he was getting after 2 exhibition games. It seems way more deserved now. He’s backing up the best generational prospect, since LeBron talk. That’s become more believable now over 10+ games.
| g | min | ppg | rpg | apg | bpg | ||
| 21-22 | All Teams | 33 | 17.4 | 7.5 | 4.2 | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| 22-23 | B-Levallois | 11 | 31.7 | 23.3 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 3.1 |
| TS% | ORtg | DRtg | PER | FG% | 3m | 3% | FT% | ||
| 21-22 | All Teams | .49 | 92.6 | 100.9 | 15.4 | .41 | 0.8 | .27 | .68 |
| 22-23 | B.-Levallois | .60 | 117.7 | 99.4 | 27.2 | .51 | 1.6 | .31 | .74 |
When you factor in the 2 exhibitions vs the G League as well these are some of the most insane numbers you will ever see by a prospect. He is doing it against some of the best non-NBA competitions in the world as well. What I believe is important is the improvement and the positive trend line that is now on.
We will have to see how he performs in Euroleague, but this is much more Luka Dončić-like coming out of Europe at the same age than the pedestrian production he was putting up before this ascent.
| Doncic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | min | ppg | rpg | apg | TS% | PER | |
| 2017-18 | 73 | 25.1 | 14.18 | 5.3 | 4.5 | .592 | 22.8 |
Here are some of the other widely regarded generational can’t miss prospects at the same age. Wembanyama is now certainly in that conversation and might have a more impressive statistical resume building.
| at the same age | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ppg | rpg | PER | TS% | DRtg | ||
| V. Wembanyama | French/euro | 7.5 | 4.2 | 15.7 | .493 | 100.9 |
| Zion Williamson | NCAA | 22.6 | 8.9 | 40.8 | .702 | 87.4 |
| Anthony Davis | NCAA | 14.2 | 10.4 | 35.1 | .654 | 80.7 |
| Lebron James | NBA | 20.9 | 5.5 | 18.3 | .488 | 104 |
| Tim Duncan | NCAA | 9.8 | 9.6 | .593 | ||
| Shaq O’Neal | NCAA | 13.9 | 12 | .575 | ||
| Patrick Ewing | NCAA | 12.7 | 7.5 | .635 | ||
| Hakeem Olajuwon | NCAA | 8.3 | 6.2 | .603 | ||
| Ralph Sampson | NCAA | 14.9 | 11.2 | .566 | ||
| Magic Johnson | NCAA | 17 | 7.9 | .533 |
While there will still be injury concerns about being 7-4 and playing with his frame and athleticism. He is truly now becoming that “alien” type of prospect LeBron James dubbed him.
