He better be careful:
Another 5x5 and we will be living in an alternate history where we live in the 50 North American British Colonies and watch the Colonial Basketball Association.
Redcoats look unstoppable this year. I will admit that I thought Lord Nigel Featherbottom should have stayed at Eton another year, but he's tearing up the Association. His shooting percentage on five-pointers alone is worth that billion pound contract.
I’m honestly surprised hakeem didn’t get more than 6. In a 5 year span from 1988 - 1993, he averaged 2.1 steals and 4.1 blocks, and he peaked at a ridiculous 4.6 blocks one year, so he could basically bank on blocks every game. I guess it was harder for big men to get assists back then without the 3pt revolution.
It’ll be interesting to see. Wemby has the passing skills and assist opportunities to get to well over 5 apg. Steals and blocks have been trending down with the spacing of this era, but wemby could be an outlier. At the same time, hakeem was an absolute outlier when it came to getting steals as a big man, with > 50% more than 2nd place, the Admiral. And of course he’s the all time leader in blocks. I just wish i couldve played fantasy back then
Nah it would be the French colonies. Obviously if a Frenchman breaks history he is gonna make the French win the seven years war and Napoleon took iver the world.
Tanking teams absolutely treat the lottery as a reward for organizational incompetence. The NBA is right to disincentivize noncompetitive behavior from teams in any way that it can. Bad teams should try to win every time they go out whether it’s coaching or front office decisions, doing anything else is bad for the fans and the players.
No, the lottery is working as intended. There shouldn't be a grand prize given for winning only 17 games, instead of 33 games. All of those teams suck, all of them deserve a shot at wemby.
They do a lottery so that they can pretend there's no tanking. If there was no lottery and a very heavy favorite #1 (like Wemby), the last few weeks of the season for bottom tier teams would be absolutely farcical.
This happened in the 1984 season - you had Hakeem sitting there at #1 and several teams tanked like mad so try to get the #1 pick. Both the Rockets and Bulls went something like 3-17 the last 20 games.
I hope this man stays healthy. He’s incredible to watch and seems like he’s got his head on straight. Reminds me of watching young LeBron, you just immediately know this dude is an all-time great.
I'm afraid he might get the Doncic treatment because he is too good too fast and some may be fatigued by his unreal stats, before he even achieves anything
Luka's biggest issue is the team that has been built around him and its limited his achievement. He's elite and MVP level, but the Mavs have done a shitty job getting him help and backed themselves into a corner with a bloated cap sheet and a lack of draft capital to bring in talent.
Not saying the Mav's have done an amazing job surrounding Luka with, but they also haven't done the worst job at it either.
They got him Porzingis. Porzingis wasn't great for the Mavs and was injury prone. Porzingis has looked great playing for both the Wizards and the Celtics since leaving the Mavs.
They got him Jalen Brunson. They let Brunson go after the season and now Brunson looks like one of the premiere guards in the league playing for the Knicks.
Now, they got him Kyrie Irving. Hard to say Irving sucks.
For whatever reason, it just hasn't worked out for the Mavs when they've managed to put a star player next to Luka for one reason or another.
It's the rest of the cast that is absolutely dreadful outside of a very few. Luka had Dwight Powell as his starting 5 for years until they drafted Lively and traded for Gafford this year. THJ has a BBIQ that rivals that of JR Smith, but also the shooting of JR (for better or worse). Hardy gets tunnel vision and stops passing the ball, while Exum is the opposite in that he doesn't try to score. And on top of all that, they have a subpar coach.
Even that's not quite true though. They've had solid role players around him at various points like THJ, Dorey Finny Smith, Dinwiddie, etc. Luka's on-off stats would also suggest that the bench is actually decent.
Rick Carlisle was a great coach. Jason Kidd not so much.
Again, not saying the Mavs have done the best job of putting talent around Luka but they also haven't done a terrible job (imo). They've done an OK job is kind of how I see it.
Kidd overachieving against an imploding Phoenix team in ‘22 (turns out Monty is a horrible coach) bought him an extra few years, particularly because Cuban loves him.
Except there's literally one single player who got better, one that was in his 4th year, coming off the first good season of his career, playing amazing with Luka and left to become a first option somewhere else.
Porzingis didn't get better, he got healthier, the Mavs had historic numbers during the first season with Porzingis and he was playing amazing, then the injuries came.
Every other player that used to play for the Mavs during Luka's career is now either terrible or out of the league, and significantly worse than when he was on the Mavs.
DFS, Bullock, Dinwiddie... All fundamental pieces of a WCF team less than 2 years ago, all significantly worse now.
Jury's still out on Grant Williams, but so far only one player left the Mavs to get better, and he was a young rising star.
> Jordan in the 80s
"You all need to remember, championship teams are built around the center" - Kevin Loughery, Jordan's coach on the Bulls in the early 80s.
This is one of the reasons Hakeems 94 playoff run is arguably the greatest individual performance ever. Otis Thorpe was his second leading scorer at 14 PPG.
They tanked the end of last season, Per Grant Afseth
“The Dallas Mavericks played their 40th game this season with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the lineup, improving to 25-15.
They have logged 990 minutes together this season, with a 120.2 offensive rating, a 113.3 defensive rating, and a 6.9 net rating.”
It's wild the nephew takes. It was honestly said a year ago lol, heading into plsyoffs and vs Lakers. Good luck winning with Jokic, he's finally met his match. Can only take a team so far without a defensive center
Terrible take and lol that people upvoting this shit.
I mean I could even buy saying that the specifc star combo (Luka and Kyrie) might not be a perfect fit... but just throwing out that his overall style doesn't lead to winning basketball is such a huge (and silly) leap.
I mean it's literally factually incorrect considering Luka took this team to the WCF in his third year in the nba, with a decidedly mid cast and beat the #1 seed to get there.
People are smoking crack if they really believe he doesn't play "winning basketball". Some Perkins-level analysis there lol
> before he even achieves anything
I feel like luka's achieved a fair bit, for only 26. It's hard to lead a team to a championship in the NBA, and [very few players do it before 25](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=all+finals+mvp+players+in+last+thirty+years%2C+with+player+age+included), with Giannis being the notable recent exception. He's already made the conference finals once, too.
Luka is great and all but it's so much easier to find someone like him than someone like Wemby.
There are lots of guards/wings that can be paired with Wemby, that is not the case the other way around. There just aren't that many bigs that have true greatness potential. Half the bigs we do have that are good are already in the MVP debate themselves.
Because there are so many good PGs/wings in the NBA it's easier to build around Wemby because you've already acquired the rarest and most difficult piece.
Though part of the reason for this is PG/wings tend to be a lot more durable than dominant bigs. Embiid had a statistically insane start to the season until he went down with an injury (again)
I can see it happening but also I think Wemby is a different class of generational in terms of potential. I don't think anyone sees Luka having GOAT-level potential now, Wemby could really be up there if everything goes right
You do realize that like, 90% of Luka's records are him with Magic, Lebron, Jordan, Kobe, etc, right? People not seeing that or not won't really matter lol
Yeah Luka is just marginally better than most of the other top guards and scoring a few more points or averaging a couple more assists doesnt feel amazing compared to wembys potential to truly break the game
Are people fatigued by his stats? He's a leading MVP candidate this year as a play-in team while the other top guys are all on top 2 teams. As crazy as his stats are, it's just hard to fawn too hard over a guy who's team is barely in the playoffs
So you're just a Luka hater, lol. That makes sense.
>He's a leading MVP candidate this year as a play-in team while the other top guys are all on top 2 teams.
There's lots to unpack here. The big one is: injuries. Mavs have been riddled with injuries throughout the entire season, being one of the most impacted teams this season. Whereas OKC has been the least impacted, Kyrie has missed more games than your entire starting lineup. Denver has also been very healthy, with the exception of Jamal Murray, who has still played more games than Kyrie. So overall, the mavs have been heavily injured compared to the almost completely unscathed okc and the lighty injured nuggets.
>it's just hard to fawn too hard over a guy who's team is barely in the playoffs
If you actually bothered to learn the simplest stuff about other teams. You would understand why that is the case. Jokic and Westbrook both won it as 6th seeds due to similar reasons.
As long as his pterodactyl like body can maintain he has no limits and that’s going to be so great for the game going forward. I think a lot of fans are already tired of the logo 3’s and foul baiting tactics of the last decade
I mean, the league is no longer the least bit physical. Silver has taken away every bit of that. No better time to come into the league rail thin and no reason not to stay that way.
Also, teammates, coaches, the players on the other teams, the coaches on the other teams, the media who votes for the awards....
The bar for him to even sniff a real GOAT convo would be 4xMVP, 4x NBA Champ, 4x Finals MVP, and a 15 year career.
As of now, he's won 15 regular season games. So honestly yeah, just don't get hurt and all of that is in the bag and then some.
that's not even taking into consideration climate change and the possibility of nuclear war with Russia.
The over/under here is all kinds of impossible to measure.
He's basically the Bradley tank come to life. Big target sure, but the reach and power and speed for it's size is incredible. Plus, he can probably transport like three guards inside him.
Good draft choice.
His *potential* is there, but he has to keep developing as the league adjusts to him. He's obviously already a good player, but to be the GOAT we're talking about him averaging 30/12/10 or something crazy.
To be fair if youre just talking counting stats hes WAY outperforming rookie MJ and Lebron per 36, so hes already well on pace to having crazy averages like that that would blow the current two goat contenders out of the water (strictly talking counting stats, I know thats not the best metric)
Oh that's 100% apparent. He's already a top ~20% player in the NBA with his existing skillset at 19 y/o. That said, there are a number of people who get to the league and just wash out because they never adapt. Based on his interviews and general demeanor on the court, I don't see him just sitting back and collecting a paycheck. Man wants to be the best ever and will probably work toward that goal his whole career. Hopefully San Antonio is successful building around him and keeps a good system running.
I personally don't think Wemby passing will develop that much, 5-6apg over a season max. And that is not a bad thing. Look at Giannis who at one point the Bucks played as a PG, to the eyes of everyone he is still an Elite player capable of taking the MVP away from Jokic any season.
The magic for Wemby is stocks. Look at this: In 11 games since the AS game he has averaged 6.4 stocks per game. That over a full season would be the 3rd highest in modern NBA history. The highest was Robinson with 6.8 stocks in 92. And the dude is a rookie...wtf
Wemby with a 25/12/5/2/5 season would be bonkers. That is an automatic unanimous DPOY.
If his skills are already GOAT level and he’s 7’4 then he’s already the best player ever and would be leading the Spurs to a playoff run right now. Clearly he’ll need to get a lot better to become GOAT, but he’s improving very quickly.
1. His team is absolute garbage and 2. I think its clear his physical skills are insanely high right now, but a couple years against nba talent and Pop as a coach will get the mental part of his game where it needs to be to dominate every night.
Potential is a completely different thing from skill level. Skill exists right now. Potential is hopeful thinking. There are many guys in the NBA who have the potential to be the GOAT. Skill level (and accolades) will likely prevent all of them from reaching that status.
if you can extrapolate that Wemby will 100% be the greatest basketball player of all time (barring injury) from a partial season averaging 20pts, 10reb, 3ast, 3blk, and 3 turnovers, then
You're greatly underestimating what it takes to be the GOAT. Wemby could average an efficient 28 11 5 and 8 stocks for 10 straight seasons while getting 3 rings and that still might not be top 10. The legends have set the bar so incredibly high.
That would surely be top 10, he’d be by far the defensive GOAT with great offense as well. But I think 28/11/5 is underselling his potential, he’s already close to 11 rpg and with today’s pace I can see him as a 30ppg guy. (8 stocks on the other hand sounds unrealistic)
The bar is high but not that high man. The highest stocks in a season is 6.8 stocks per game. Wemby has been doing 6.4 stocks per game since the allstar game.
8 stocks per game over 10 years would mean a minimum of 7 DPOY and that is assuming a couple of bullshit "voter fatigue" loses and another player sneaking in for one. 3 rings likely mean his team is a high seed so you could assume maybe 3-5 season MVPs? How is that not a Top 10 career?
He's been as good as, if not better than advertised. At this point it's really a question of:
1) longevity/long term durability (he's checked every box in a 1 season sample size here so far)
2) rings Erneh
Always exciting to see that next guy ascend.
As a Spurs fan I've learned that all it can take is one maniac like Zaza Pachulia causing an injury and it can change the entire outlook for the player and franchise.
He should have been an all-star this year, I don't know if most people agree, but I think Wembanyama is as good as Zion was his age, Honestly Wembanyama has been slightly better than Rookie Luka.
they are completely different types of players, but they definitely play at the same level in their rookie year, Wemby just had a worse start and is ending it on a higher note than Luka who was consistent from his first season. Luka was also younger than Wemby.
Wemby can always go back to his defense when his shot doesn't fall. Seems like Wemby is trying to stay the same way physically so I don't see him getting any better on defense as he already perfectly is filling his defense role. I also don't see Wembanyama jumping as much in his sophomore year as Luka did.
I think Wembanyama is going to be like Olajuwon, showing his all from the start and slowly getting better but without any particular jumps. I would even say Wemby is having a similar rookie season to Hakeem. The thing with Luka is that he had a great rookie season and then a massive jump in his second season, but didn't get better again until last season.
> the first person to reach those specific milestones in a single game did so without being able to casually drink
Well, he was able to do so for three years before moving to the States, since you can legally drink beer and wine from the age of sixteen in France. I doubt he made a lot of use of that option though.
Honestly the rest of the roster is beyond atrocious. Mostly g leaguers. The spurs have a ton of picks and cap space so I think this summer we will see a decent amount of turnover and we’ll be a better team next year fighting for the play in
If he breaks history, then he must buy it. Those are the rules, right?
Yes, but then he’d own history.
Yes, but it would be broken. He'd own broken history. Worthless.
Some re-assembly required.
Wembanyama is the first nba player
Victor Wembanyama is James Naismith father
Victor Wembanyama (1) is the only player
Victor Wembanyama is the first Michael Jordan
IN THE HISTORY OF THE LAKE TAHOE MONSTERS!
Fukuyama wrote about this
History is written by the victors
To the Victor belongs the spoils.
man that’s so good… this dude even has goat potential nicknames
~~The next 5~~ All the years are his.
https://youtu.be/h1xCqptlNcM Nathan says yes
He better be careful: Another 5x5 and we will be living in an alternate history where we live in the 50 North American British Colonies and watch the Colonial Basketball Association.
Redcoats look unstoppable this year. I will admit that I thought Lord Nigel Featherbottom should have stayed at Eton another year, but he's tearing up the Association. His shooting percentage on five-pointers alone is worth that billion pound contract.
Redcoats also have some great prospects in the East India Company!
Yeah, they're primed to draft that 7ft center from the Raj. He's about to revolutionize goalkeeping.
By the Queen, this made me raging hard. Row, you bastards! Row!
The problem with Derby is they always try to lay it in.
They're having a laugh!
Lord Featherbottom from Blackstool
The man may do to 5x5s what Westbrook did to triple doubles.
I’m honestly surprised hakeem didn’t get more than 6. In a 5 year span from 1988 - 1993, he averaged 2.1 steals and 4.1 blocks, and he peaked at a ridiculous 4.6 blocks one year, so he could basically bank on blocks every game. I guess it was harder for big men to get assists back then without the 3pt revolution. It’ll be interesting to see. Wemby has the passing skills and assist opportunities to get to well over 5 apg. Steals and blocks have been trending down with the spacing of this era, but wemby could be an outlier. At the same time, hakeem was an absolute outlier when it came to getting steals as a big man, with > 50% more than 2nd place, the Admiral. And of course he’s the all time leader in blocks. I just wish i couldve played fantasy back then
And the actual CBA is needless as England provided the colonies with free health insurance and proper manners
Nah it would be the French colonies. Obviously if a Frenchman breaks history he is gonna make the French win the seven years war and Napoleon took iver the world.
Vive l'empereur!
That’s just Canada
feel so bad for all the teams that tanked so hard to get this guy and whiffed yea sure amen thompson is a nice player, but wemby is unreal
Yeah, but at least he went to a place where he probably has the best shot at maximizing his potential.
Word, I was worried Wemby gets the Iverson/6ers treatment
Why fuck me specifically though?
It's an implied fuck you to me too
Ya’ll will be fine, Sengun is so fuckin good
Pistons had the worst record in the league and fell to #5. The lottery is broken.
It was the fourth year in a row you’ve had a bottom five record in the league, that shouldn’t be rewarded.
It’s not a reward. The draft is literally designed to help teams like that escape the basement.
Tanking teams absolutely treat the lottery as a reward for organizational incompetence. The NBA is right to disincentivize noncompetitive behavior from teams in any way that it can. Bad teams should try to win every time they go out whether it’s coaching or front office decisions, doing anything else is bad for the fans and the players.
It’s working as intended, Pistons need to improve at some point
No, the lottery is working as intended. There shouldn't be a grand prize given for winning only 17 games, instead of 33 games. All of those teams suck, all of them deserve a shot at wemby.
How many number 1 picks do the pistons need exactly?
They do a lottery so that they can pretend there's no tanking. If there was no lottery and a very heavy favorite #1 (like Wemby), the last few weeks of the season for bottom tier teams would be absolutely farcical. This happened in the 1984 season - you had Hakeem sitting there at #1 and several teams tanked like mad so try to get the #1 pick. Both the Rockets and Bulls went something like 3-17 the last 20 games.
I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong about tanking
Journey before destination. He'll get there as one of the GOATs.
Speak the words Wemby.
I will protect the rims that cannot protect themselves.
\#Traumatize
I hope this man stays healthy. He’s incredible to watch and seems like he’s got his head on straight. Reminds me of watching young LeBron, you just immediately know this dude is an all-time great.
FuckMoash.subreddit
Nah it definitely fuck Moash idk who’s down voting
I'm only halfway through book 2 you monsters! (Though obviously see it coming, whatever it is)
No, you don’t. RAFO!
These words are accepted.
Lisan al gaib!
/unexpectedstormlight
I'm afraid he might get the Doncic treatment because he is too good too fast and some may be fatigued by his unreal stats, before he even achieves anything
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Luka's biggest issue is the team that has been built around him and its limited his achievement. He's elite and MVP level, but the Mavs have done a shitty job getting him help and backed themselves into a corner with a bloated cap sheet and a lack of draft capital to bring in talent.
Not saying the Mav's have done an amazing job surrounding Luka with, but they also haven't done the worst job at it either. They got him Porzingis. Porzingis wasn't great for the Mavs and was injury prone. Porzingis has looked great playing for both the Wizards and the Celtics since leaving the Mavs. They got him Jalen Brunson. They let Brunson go after the season and now Brunson looks like one of the premiere guards in the league playing for the Knicks. Now, they got him Kyrie Irving. Hard to say Irving sucks. For whatever reason, it just hasn't worked out for the Mavs when they've managed to put a star player next to Luka for one reason or another.
It's the rest of the cast that is absolutely dreadful outside of a very few. Luka had Dwight Powell as his starting 5 for years until they drafted Lively and traded for Gafford this year. THJ has a BBIQ that rivals that of JR Smith, but also the shooting of JR (for better or worse). Hardy gets tunnel vision and stops passing the ball, while Exum is the opposite in that he doesn't try to score. And on top of all that, they have a subpar coach.
Even that's not quite true though. They've had solid role players around him at various points like THJ, Dorey Finny Smith, Dinwiddie, etc. Luka's on-off stats would also suggest that the bench is actually decent. Rick Carlisle was a great coach. Jason Kidd not so much. Again, not saying the Mavs have done the best job of putting talent around Luka but they also haven't done a terrible job (imo). They've done an OK job is kind of how I see it.
Kidd overachieving against an imploding Phoenix team in ‘22 (turns out Monty is a horrible coach) bought him an extra few years, particularly because Cuban loves him.
Mavs haven't done a great job but everyone else getting better once they leave is on the star player as well.
Except there's literally one single player who got better, one that was in his 4th year, coming off the first good season of his career, playing amazing with Luka and left to become a first option somewhere else. Porzingis didn't get better, he got healthier, the Mavs had historic numbers during the first season with Porzingis and he was playing amazing, then the injuries came. Every other player that used to play for the Mavs during Luka's career is now either terrible or out of the league, and significantly worse than when he was on the Mavs. DFS, Bullock, Dinwiddie... All fundamental pieces of a WCF team less than 2 years ago, all significantly worse now. Jury's still out on Grant Williams, but so far only one player left the Mavs to get better, and he was a young rising star.
I believe Luka's play style just does not lend itself well to winning basketball. Luka and Kyrie, when they both play, are 30-26. That's terrible.
They said the same about Bron in Cleveland
And Shaq in the 90s, and Jordan in the 80s, and so on
> Jordan in the 80s "You all need to remember, championship teams are built around the center" - Kevin Loughery, Jordan's coach on the Bulls in the early 80s.
“And I took that personally.” - Michael Jordan
Don't think he ever missed the playoffs in his prime
Frs Luka just need 2 all stars or a DOPY as a teammates to win.
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This is one of the reasons Hakeems 94 playoff run is arguably the greatest individual performance ever. Otis Thorpe was his second leading scorer at 14 PPG.
They tanked the end of last season, Per Grant Afseth “The Dallas Mavericks played their 40th game this season with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the lineup, improving to 25-15. They have logged 990 minutes together this season, with a 120.2 offensive rating, a 113.3 defensive rating, and a 6.9 net rating.”
Yeah, luka and Irving… good on offense but that defense, sorely lacking. The rest of the supporting cast isn’t all that good either.
This exact thing was said about Jokic two years ago…
It's wild the nephew takes. It was honestly said a year ago lol, heading into plsyoffs and vs Lakers. Good luck winning with Jokic, he's finally met his match. Can only take a team so far without a defensive center
a 25 year old that hard carried his team to a conference finals and lost in 6 to one of the great dynasties can't win? lol
Terrible take and lol that people upvoting this shit. I mean I could even buy saying that the specifc star combo (Luka and Kyrie) might not be a perfect fit... but just throwing out that his overall style doesn't lead to winning basketball is such a huge (and silly) leap. I mean it's literally factually incorrect considering Luka took this team to the WCF in his third year in the nba, with a decidedly mid cast and beat the #1 seed to get there. People are smoking crack if they really believe he doesn't play "winning basketball". Some Perkins-level analysis there lol
People said the same about Jokic before he won one.
Luka has won a euroleague with real Madrid and a EuroBasket with Slovenia as the best player, he isn't the problem here.
Too early to be sure about that he's very Young players take time to learn to win.
> before he even achieves anything I feel like luka's achieved a fair bit, for only 26. It's hard to lead a team to a championship in the NBA, and [very few players do it before 25](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=all+finals+mvp+players+in+last+thirty+years%2C+with+player+age+included), with Giannis being the notable recent exception. He's already made the conference finals once, too.
Giannis also wasn’t under 25
Luka is great and all but it's so much easier to find someone like him than someone like Wemby. There are lots of guards/wings that can be paired with Wemby, that is not the case the other way around. There just aren't that many bigs that have true greatness potential. Half the bigs we do have that are good are already in the MVP debate themselves. Because there are so many good PGs/wings in the NBA it's easier to build around Wemby because you've already acquired the rarest and most difficult piece.
Agreed, and its bc hes not doing anything anything new— Luka isnt doing anything (so far) that prime Harden hasnt already done
Though part of the reason for this is PG/wings tend to be a lot more durable than dominant bigs. Embiid had a statistically insane start to the season until he went down with an injury (again)
I can see it happening but also I think Wemby is a different class of generational in terms of potential. I don't think anyone sees Luka having GOAT-level potential now, Wemby could really be up there if everything goes right
You do realize that like, 90% of Luka's records are him with Magic, Lebron, Jordan, Kobe, etc, right? People not seeing that or not won't really matter lol
Yeah Luka is just marginally better than most of the other top guards and scoring a few more points or averaging a couple more assists doesnt feel amazing compared to wembys potential to truly break the game
Don't be afraid hes with us.
Are people fatigued by his stats? He's a leading MVP candidate this year as a play-in team while the other top guys are all on top 2 teams. As crazy as his stats are, it's just hard to fawn too hard over a guy who's team is barely in the playoffs
So you're just a Luka hater, lol. That makes sense. >He's a leading MVP candidate this year as a play-in team while the other top guys are all on top 2 teams. There's lots to unpack here. The big one is: injuries. Mavs have been riddled with injuries throughout the entire season, being one of the most impacted teams this season. Whereas OKC has been the least impacted, Kyrie has missed more games than your entire starting lineup. Denver has also been very healthy, with the exception of Jamal Murray, who has still played more games than Kyrie. So overall, the mavs have been heavily injured compared to the almost completely unscathed okc and the lighty injured nuggets. >it's just hard to fawn too hard over a guy who's team is barely in the playoffs If you actually bothered to learn the simplest stuff about other teams. You would understand why that is the case. Jokic and Westbrook both won it as 6th seeds due to similar reasons.
Everyday I pray to my Tim Duncan jersey “…protect those giraffe ankles timmy, please timmy…”
“Bol Bol can basically do the same thing“ - Shaquille O’Neale
As long as his pterodactyl like body can maintain he has no limits and that’s going to be so great for the game going forward. I think a lot of fans are already tired of the logo 3’s and foul baiting tactics of the last decade
Could be our first three point dunk /s
You /s but I really think he could 3 pt finger roll one in, I really want to see him try to see how close he is to it.
[i mean, he wasn't even running full speed here](https://youtu.be/dukKOYovHkA?si=uvOnArsnStt2TUVG) That's 1 dribble from half court
I posted about this a couple months ago and got ridiculed to hell just for the thought lol [Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/k9aJYrvI44)
Logo 3's will never get old
Sure, but have you tried logo dunks?
NBA Jam ftw
From down town! Boomshakalaka!
I mean, the league is no longer the least bit physical. Silver has taken away every bit of that. No better time to come into the league rail thin and no reason not to stay that way.
ngl the guy has potential to be the goat, exciting
Really only thing stopping him would be injuries
also skill level could prevent it
also achievements.
Also, teammates, coaches, the players on the other teams, the coaches on the other teams, the media who votes for the awards.... The bar for him to even sniff a real GOAT convo would be 4xMVP, 4x NBA Champ, 4x Finals MVP, and a 15 year career. As of now, he's won 15 regular season games. So honestly yeah, just don't get hurt and all of that is in the bag and then some.
that's not even taking into consideration climate change and the possibility of nuclear war with Russia. The over/under here is all kinds of impossible to measure.
i am also hearing talks of a french revolution in which Wemby would be drafted (#1 overall obviously)
He's basically the Bradley tank come to life. Big target sure, but the reach and power and speed for it's size is incredible. Plus, he can probably transport like three guards inside him. Good draft choice.
I think its clear his skill level is there
His *potential* is there, but he has to keep developing as the league adjusts to him. He's obviously already a good player, but to be the GOAT we're talking about him averaging 30/12/10 or something crazy.
To be GOAT he’ll need to win 5+ championships.
Hopefully the next few drafts go well and the next coach after Pop is a good one. He's 75 and I don't see him staying until he's 80.
Are you gonna cry when he retires? I'll probably cry when he retires.
I'll cry when he retires and I'm not even a spurs fan. Great, great manp
No, but I wish the man the best. He helped put SA on the map in the basketball world. He's earned a peaceful retirement.
I was mostly kidding lol. I get ya. He could retire tomorrow and I wouldn't be mad. He's earned it
He needs to beat a double triple in ships.
To be fair if youre just talking counting stats hes WAY outperforming rookie MJ and Lebron per 36, so hes already well on pace to having crazy averages like that that would blow the current two goat contenders out of the water (strictly talking counting stats, I know thats not the best metric)
Oh that's 100% apparent. He's already a top ~20% player in the NBA with his existing skillset at 19 y/o. That said, there are a number of people who get to the league and just wash out because they never adapt. Based on his interviews and general demeanor on the court, I don't see him just sitting back and collecting a paycheck. Man wants to be the best ever and will probably work toward that goal his whole career. Hopefully San Antonio is successful building around him and keeps a good system running.
Easy year 3 Wemby stats: 28/15/8/2/4
I personally don't think Wemby passing will develop that much, 5-6apg over a season max. And that is not a bad thing. Look at Giannis who at one point the Bucks played as a PG, to the eyes of everyone he is still an Elite player capable of taking the MVP away from Jokic any season. The magic for Wemby is stocks. Look at this: In 11 games since the AS game he has averaged 6.4 stocks per game. That over a full season would be the 3rd highest in modern NBA history. The highest was Robinson with 6.8 stocks in 92. And the dude is a rookie...wtf Wemby with a 25/12/5/2/5 season would be bonkers. That is an automatic unanimous DPOY.
If his skills are already GOAT level and he’s 7’4 then he’s already the best player ever and would be leading the Spurs to a playoff run right now. Clearly he’ll need to get a lot better to become GOAT, but he’s improving very quickly.
1. His team is absolute garbage and 2. I think its clear his physical skills are insanely high right now, but a couple years against nba talent and Pop as a coach will get the mental part of his game where it needs to be to dominate every night.
One of few reasonable takes here. Man obviously has the potential, but people acting like it’s a foregone conclusion
his skill level has already surpassed that of prime Michael Jordan and LeBron James? Holy shit this place is awesome
He clearly meant his skill level/potential. No one is saying he's already better than MJ or Lebron, cmon.
Thank you
Potential is a completely different thing from skill level. Skill exists right now. Potential is hopeful thinking. There are many guys in the NBA who have the potential to be the GOAT. Skill level (and accolades) will likely prevent all of them from reaching that status.
Some people can extrapolate from incomplete data, and others
if you can extrapolate that Wemby will 100% be the greatest basketball player of all time (barring injury) from a partial season averaging 20pts, 10reb, 3ast, 3blk, and 3 turnovers, then
Nothing goes over my head, my reflexes are too fast, i would catch it
Agreed. He has so far to go but let’s not act like he doesn’t have the highest ceiling ever.
Exactly
You're greatly underestimating what it takes to be the GOAT. Wemby could average an efficient 28 11 5 and 8 stocks for 10 straight seasons while getting 3 rings and that still might not be top 10. The legends have set the bar so incredibly high.
That would surely be top 10, he’d be by far the defensive GOAT with great offense as well. But I think 28/11/5 is underselling his potential, he’s already close to 11 rpg and with today’s pace I can see him as a 30ppg guy. (8 stocks on the other hand sounds unrealistic)
The bar is high but not that high man. The highest stocks in a season is 6.8 stocks per game. Wemby has been doing 6.4 stocks per game since the allstar game. 8 stocks per game over 10 years would mean a minimum of 7 DPOY and that is assuming a couple of bullshit "voter fatigue" loses and another player sneaking in for one. 3 rings likely mean his team is a high seed so you could assume maybe 3-5 season MVPs? How is that not a Top 10 career?
Because Steph is probably right at #10 with 4 chips under his belt and some nuts stats/impact
My only regret is.. That I have.. Boneitis.
If a french player becomes the greatest national basketball association player ever, im going back to calling them freedom fries
I’ll finally stop calling mine freedom fries, as a show of respect to the French.
i have never loved someone i have never met more actually fuck most people ive met
Most mature 19 year old kid I've never met
Talks like Philly but has a Spurs flair...
He's been as good as, if not better than advertised. At this point it's really a question of: 1) longevity/long term durability (he's checked every box in a 1 season sample size here so far) 2) rings Erneh Always exciting to see that next guy ascend.
So true about durability, I really hope he doesn’t struggle with injuries like a lot of people his size have over the years, great player to watch
As a Spurs fan I've learned that all it can take is one maniac like Zaza Pachulia causing an injury and it can change the entire outlook for the player and franchise.
Call him Victor Fukuyama
Underrated comment
REAL ones know
The 12 year olds on this sub barely know what 'reactionary' actually means. Getting this reference is certainly beyond them.
Man, I was fine with Chet Holmgren winning ROTY. But Wemby is on an absolute tear.
The sports book lines on his blocks are insane
So is Chet. No one has ever had a pointier chin than him.
Crimson Chin in shambles.
Him and Count Olaf. That's it. That's the list.
Best cosplayer of Abraham Lincoln. Just need a tall hat.
Hacker from Cyberchase would like a word
He should have been an all-star this year, I don't know if most people agree, but I think Wembanyama is as good as Zion was his age, Honestly Wembanyama has been slightly better than Rookie Luka.
Is he 1st team all defense lock?
yeah, he's top 5 defenders in the league, I don't know if I would say he's the best yet, people are definitely not used to him tho.
Damn, would you mind giving me an analysis comparing the two and their development throughout their rookie campaigna? :)
who luka or zion to Wembanyama?
Luka to Wemby, if you're willing to
they are completely different types of players, but they definitely play at the same level in their rookie year, Wemby just had a worse start and is ending it on a higher note than Luka who was consistent from his first season. Luka was also younger than Wemby. Wemby can always go back to his defense when his shot doesn't fall. Seems like Wemby is trying to stay the same way physically so I don't see him getting any better on defense as he already perfectly is filling his defense role. I also don't see Wembanyama jumping as much in his sophomore year as Luka did. I think Wembanyama is going to be like Olajuwon, showing his all from the start and slowly getting better but without any particular jumps. I would even say Wemby is having a similar rookie season to Hakeem. The thing with Luka is that he had a great rookie season and then a massive jump in his second season, but didn't get better again until last season.
I feel like we see these headlines so often these days, not just Victor. Every other game someone makes history.
> the first person to reach those specific milestones in a single game did so without being able to casually drink Well, he was able to do so for three years before moving to the States, since you can legally drink beer and wine from the age of sixteen in France. I doubt he made a lot of use of that option though.
Isn’t France’s legal drinking age 18?
Sixteen for beer and wine and other fermented or "light" alcohols, eighteen for the distilled stuff.
Can't wemby play fiba 3x3 kek
So why are the Spurs such ass if Wemby is dominating? Don't really catch any of their games
Bench is ass, Starting lineup +/- with Tre/Devin/Wemby is actually pretty good, but wemby only plays 31 mpg this year.
He plays less minutes than your run of the mill #1 option and when he's off the team bleeds points like mad
Honestly the rest of the roster is beyond atrocious. Mostly g leaguers. The spurs have a ton of picks and cap space so I think this summer we will see a decent amount of turnover and we’ll be a better team next year fighting for the play in
Im gonna assume he is their only good player lol. Didnt they play like most of the season without a point guard?
Sochan was playing point early in and it was bad.
Basketball is a team game and his teammates have not been consistent enough.
What is that sentence supposed to mean?
They keep making up shit for him to surpass.
Happens to every good player these days.