There's no question who is going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
It was clear this time last year that Victor Wembanyama was the best prospect in his class. In the 12 months since the Frenchman has made a name for himself as one of the best prospects in NBA history.
To figure out if Wembanyama is actually worthy of that title, let's take a closer look at his best game of the season, his worst game of the season and a game somewhere in the middle. Why? It's an exercise Tyler Lashbrook of SB Nation used to do after a former NBA executive said it was the "ideal scenario" to evaluate a prospect.
It helped me get a better sense of LaMelo Ball's game in 2020, Josh Giddey's in 2021 and Brandon Miller's in this year's draft.
Now, let's dive deep into the world of what Wembanyama is and what he could be.
Best game: Victor Wembanyama sets season-high vs. Limoges
Stats: 33 PTS (10-17 FG, 3-8 3PT, 10-12 FT), 11 REB, 4 AST, 3 BLK, 1 STL
Wembanyama sure wasn't shy against Limoges. Here's what he did on the opening play:
Probably not the best shot Metropolitans 92 could've gotten, but Wembanyama more than made up for it by leading them to victory with a season-best 33 points. (That's not counting the two exhibition games he played against the G League Ignite, which saw him score 36 points and 37 points in back-to-back games.)
Wembanyama's first basket tells you everything you need to know about how unique of a player he is. He rebounded a missed shot, pushed the ball up the court himself and busted out this move:
That's a ridiculous amount of skill for someone his size, and there's not much of anything anyone in the world can do to disrupt the jump shot of a 7-foot-4 big man with an 8-foot wingspan. The player defending him is listed at 6-foot-7. He had no chance against Wembanyama.
Wembanyama's size advantage makes him a tough cover in the post even though he has a slight frame. More often than not, he can just rise up over whoever is defending him.
His range on just shooting over whoever is defending him extends all the way out to the 3-point line.
Then there's this, which almost melted the internet when it happened:
One-legged runners from the perimeter have somehow become his thing.
That size doesn't just help Wembanyama get his shot off over defenders. It also makes him a massive target for his teammates. He drew nine fouls against Limoges, a couple of which came from him establishing deep post position and getting to an entry pass that would be out of reach for most players.
Impressive as his scoring is against Limoges, Wembanyama's passing stood out the most to me.
This touch pass was an absolute beauty:
He recorded two of his four assists in transition. Both times the ball was barely in his hands.
This doesn't result in a made basket for Metropolitans 92, but Wembanyama makes a couple of quick and accurate passes on the same possession that lead to wide-open 3-pointers against zone defense:
Defensively, Wembanyama was as advertised. He finished with three blocks and altered a whole lot more.
There were a number of times when players drove into the paint and didn't even look at the basket because they knew their chances of scoring over Wembanyama were slim. He moves incredibly well for a 7-footer and doesn't get out of position much by chasing blocks.
When someone did challenge him, it usually didn't end well for them.
Wembanyama led France's LNB in blocks and was named Defensive Player of the Year as a 19-year-old. He's a legitimate two-way threat.
Beyond a couple of ill-advised shot attempts that you probably live with Wembanyama taking because of how talented he is, the only bad things you can say about his performance are that he was a split-second too late on a couple of rotations, Limoges beat him to a few rebounds and he had a couple of sloppy passes.
That's nitpicking more than anything. It was a dominant game from Wembanyama from start to finish.
Worst game: Victor Wembanyama struggles in tight win vs. Fos-sur-Mer
Stats: 11 PTS (4-12 FG, 1-7 3PT, 2-2 FT), 7 REB, 5 TO, 4 BLK
It's fair to wonder how accurate of a shooter Wembanyama will be in the NBA.
There's no question that he can shoot, but Wembanyama hasn't been a knockdown 3-point shooter early in his career. Last season, he attempted 3.1 3-pointers per game and converted them at a 26.0 percent clip. His volume went up this season (5.0 3-point attempts per game) despite no real jump in efficiency (27.5 percent).
This was one of his worst 3-point shooting games of the season — he missed six of seven attempts from the perimeter.
Most of them were good looks within the flow of the offense:
But there were a couple of times when it felt like Wembanyama was settling, especially on a night when his shot wasn't falling.
An encouraging sign is that Wembanyama was much improved from the free throw line with Metropolitans 92, going from connecting on 70.0 percent of his freebies last season to 82.8 percent this season. Between that and his fluid form, it's hard to believe he won't become a more efficient 3-point shooter in time, especially if he becomes more selective.
Compared to his scoring outburst against Limoges, Wembanyama didn't have as many opportunities to create in this one. He spent a lot of the game floating around the perimeter, and there were a number of times when his teammates flat-out missed him.
That's not to say Fos-sur-Mer didn't defend Wembanyama well, because they did. They didn't give him much space to work with, showed him as much size as possible and were physical with him all game long.
Much has been made of Wembanyama's frame because of how slight he is. It'll be interesting to see what the Spurs think is the best team to build around him knowing that he could struggle against some of the bigger centers in the NBA. Will they use him as a traditional center or pair him with another big who could take on the more bruising tasks? (Ironically, Jakob Poeltl would've made for a nice fit with Wembanyama.)
Johan Passave-Ducteil is listed at 6-foot-7, but he scored a couple of baskets against Wembanyama by using his 238-pound frame to carve out space.
Shevon Thompson, who is listed at 7 feet and 242 pounds, beat Wembanyama to a couple of rebounds in a similar fashion, using his strength to get Wembanyama out of position.
Even with this being arguably Wembanyama's worst game of the season, there were still some bright spots.
One of the jumpers he did make came on a sequence a player his size has no business making.
He didn't register a single assist, but he had a nifty pass that led to an assist.
Despite a few plays where he was overpowered, Wembanyama was still a force defensively. He finished the game with four blocks, two of which came on back-to-back possessions.
First, he swatted a layup attempt out of a pick-and-roll:
Then, he met someone who thought they might be able to dunk on him at the summit:
Somewhere in the middle: Victor Wembanyama scores 20 points in loss to Blois
Stats: 20 PTS (7-17 FG, 0-4 3PT, 6-7 FT), 8 REB, 6 AST, 2 BLK
This is another game when Wembanyama's 3-point shot wasn't falling.
Once again, there were some questionable decisions made on his behalf:
But overall, Wembanyama was much more aggressive attacking the basket, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the paint.
Wembanyama should have a high floor as a scorer in the NBA because of the damage he can do without the ball in his hands. In addition to being a capable shooter, he's a smart cutter...
...strong offensive rebounder...
...and an alley-oop threat. You and I could probably throw a lob pass to someone 7-foot-4 with an 8-foot wingspan.
The rest of the stuff will determine just how big of a star he will be. If he can do the typical big man things while being able to knock down 3s at a respectable rate and create shots for himself and others off the dribble, it's hard to imagine anyone being able to truly defend him.
Again, someone his size shouldn't be able to do things like this:
They shouldn't be able to make passes like this either:
Wembanyama should have an incredibly high floor defensively as well.
The blocks make the highlight reels, but he's agile enough to step out to the perimeter and recover in time to protect the rim. There's no question he has the potential to be a multi-time Defensive Player of the Year in today's NBA. He has the versatility to fit into pretty much any scheme.
Wembanyama didn't make many mistakes against Blois, but his night didn't end on the best note.
Not only did Blois take the lead on a possession he got his ankles broken:
But he also committed his only turnover of the game on the final play:
What Victor Wembanyama's best and worst game with Metropolitans 92 tells us about his NBA potential
It's hard to come up with a good comparison for Wembanyama because we haven't seen anyone like him before.
As long as he stays healthy, Wembanyama is going to be special. He's already a dynamic defender who is a nightmare to score against at the rim. Offensively, he can take some bad shots and throw some sloppy passes, but his jumper is unblockable and he has real guard skills. He even reads the floor well as a passer.
Whether or not Wembanyama walks into the NBA as an All-Star remains to be seen, but playing for Gregg Popovich on the Spurs might be the best thing for him to reach his full potential.
