With the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry in the latter stages of their career, there has been a lot of discussion about who will be the next face of the NBA. In the eyes of many, that next player will be Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
The top overall pick in the 2023 draft and the most hyped prospect since LeBron entered the league 20 years ago, Wembanyama has already shown an unreal skill level in his first season and looks poised to be the next great NBA big man, potentially joining the all-time greats such as Los Angeles Lakers legends Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.
The Spurs phenom isn’t just extremely talented, but is also a student of the game who knows his history. During All-Star Weekend, Wembanyama was asked who would be his all-time dream teammate and he chose Chamberlain as his pick, via NBA on X:
? @wemby
? @brandmillerr
? @jabarismithjr https://t.co/InwugRghwb pic.twitter.com/VNsXW5KIXw— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2024
It is a bit of a surprising choice that Wembanyama would go not only with a big man, but one from well before he was even born. Chamberlain’s feats during his time in the NBA remain some of the most unbelievable and have yet to be touched. He would also show his growth when he joined the Lakers later in his career and helped the franchise to its first NBA Championship in 1972, mainly focusing on defense and rebounding.
The scary part about a Wembanyama-Chamberlain pairing is that it probably could work given the skillset of the French phenom. Wembanyama can operate from the perimeter with his shooting and ball-handling ability, while Chamberlain would patrol the paint with his unrivaled size and strength.
When it comes strictly to size and skill, Wembanyama and Chamberlain are two of the most gifted players the league has ever seen at their height. A pairing of the two would be basically unstoppable.
Could Victor Wembanyama break Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring record?
To this day, no one has come close to approaching Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game as Kobe Bryant’s 81-point outing in 2005 remains the closest anyone has come. But Kobe’s Lakers teammate Metta World Peace feels Victor Wembanyama will be the one to do it.
World Peace recently made the claim, calling Wembanyama the ‘closest to Wilt [Chamberlain] that we’ll ever see’ and believing that within the next few years he will catch a rhythm against a bad team and eclipse the 100-point mark that Chamberlain set so many years ago.
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