Victor Wembanyama is the embodiment of basketball evolution and Wembanyama’s genes sure play a role as the catalyst for the evolution. Frédéric Weis could have be the one if it is decades earlier as one of the first French centre to be imprinted in the memory of American basketball fans.
But for all the wrong reasons. Vince Carter’s leapfrog dunk at the Sydney Olympics with the 7-foot-2 1999 first-round pick of the Knicks (15th overall) resonated around the world, especially in his native France. Weis’ name became synonymous with descendants, and French basketball players have carried the soft label ever since.
Victor Wembanyama Rollout Signify The Revenge of Frédéric Weis
7’4” 18-year-old Victor Wembanyama
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 5, 2022
37 Points
11/20 Shooting
7/11 Threes
5 Blocks
4 Rebounds
pic.twitter.com/U5TLOxRJi7
The arc in the sports world has to be tilted towards jest because Wembanyama is American comeuppance for what Vinsanity did to Frédéric Weis. Once LeBron James and Stephen Curry announced their exits, the game was in the hands of the good hands, but not the Americans.
Nikola Jokic, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are all phenomenal, but none of them are considered top players in their respective drafts. The first generation of prominent figures in two decades was the French teenager.
Have you seen a basketball player like this? No, you haven’t.
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 3, 2022
Victor Wembanyama covers SLAM 240. https://t.co/7XlmKr6Qrr pic.twitter.com/4pgLywxohB
Wembanyama’s launch was flawless. In two games with G League Ignite, Wembanyama silenced any doubters with 36.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks, and of his 18 attempts, 50 percent came from downtown. Wembanyama is agile and long, and unlike his compatriot Rudy Gobert, doesn’t feel uncomfortable defending on the perimeter. Teams that choose Wembanyama will not only have a hard time scoring in the paint, Wembanyama sits.
Wembanyama is a generation of rookies in the NBA circle who have been waiting to be dropped into the NBA draft. Had he been pushed into the 2003 draft, there was a 50% chance he would have been the top prospect of the Year rather than King James, depending on who was drafting.
LeBron has high praise for Victor Wembanyama ⭐ pic.twitter.com/c4H2L75s1a
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 6, 2022
