(Photo by Brien Aho/Getty Images)
Ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs made a lot of noise, bringing in Victor Wembanyama, one of the most hyped rookies since LeBron James, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The French phenom is the kind of player no one had ever seen before, as he is incredibly tall yet possesses the skills of a big man and a guard, which is a combination the league has never seen a player pull off.
Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is probably the closest to Wembanyama in terms of being tall and skinny but still able to hurt opposing teams in the paint and on the perimeter. But he can’t play defense like the up-and-coming Spurs star can.
That said, many believe Wembanyama will be the best all-around player in the league sooner rather than later, but former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal isn’t convinced he can reach that level of success.
“‘Wemby’ is a great player, but I don’t really think you can be dominant when you shoot jumpers a lot,” O’Neal said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I think if he was an inside player at 7-5, the answer would be ‘yes,’ but when you shoot jumpers, you are always going to go up and down.”
.@SHAQ kept it real with the @PatMcAfeeShow about being considered one of the “most dominant” players in the game of basketball pic.twitter.com/xztlJ0Tgjb
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 5, 2024
O’Neal is not one to shy away from controversial takes and didn’t when it came to Wembanyama. This is a bold comment to make because the NBA is quite different now, as players struggle to become superstars without having a perimeter game.
It’ll be interesting to see where Wembanyama’s career goes from here, as the future looks bright in San Antonio, especially playing alongside Chris Paul next season.
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