Top draftee Wembanyama ready to take modern NBA by storm
NEW YORK – In 2002, China’s 7-foot-6 Yao Ming became the tallest player to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick in NBA history.
His height was his might.
More than 20 years later, France’s 7-5 Victor Wembanyama was crowned the second-tallest player to be selected at the top of the NBA Draft.
Victor Wembanyama is the 2nd-tallest No. 1 pick in NBA history, behind Yao Ming at 7-foot-6.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 23, 2023
The Top 4:
- Yao Ming 7'6
- Victor Wembanyama 7'5
- Ralph Sampson 7'4
- Lew Alcindor 7'2 pic.twitter.com/WPQGGaWpxi
His height is also his might. But there’s more to it than meets the eye.
His 8-foot-wingspan can reach the sky to collar rebounds and block shots as Yao did. But Wembanyama is not your prototypical big man.
The San Antonio Spurs, who won the Wembanyama lottery, are not getting a Tim Duncan or a David Robinson. They are getting a hybrid big man who moves and shoots like a guard fit for the modern NBA.
Wembanyama enters the association at the right time, as the center position, which became an afterthought during the height of the small ball and 3-point revolution, is making a comeback.
Joel Embiid, the Cameroonian center of the Philadelphia 76ers who also holds French citizenship, is the reigning regular-season MVP.
Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets’ Serbian big man, dominated the postseason to win his first NBA ring and NBA Finals MVP trophy.
“The game shifted a little bit in the last couple of years,” Wembanyama told Philstar.com during his post-draft presser Thursday night (Friday Manila time) at the Barclays Center. “I think it makes sense because you need a combination of skill but also of luck and genetics to be the best. The best lately have been bigs — and European bigs.”
Wembanyama possessed both traits that could propel him to become the world’s best.
He fulfilled his dream of becoming the No. 1 pick by dominating the French national league with an MVP and Defensive Player of the Year season at 19.
While he’s the most hyped NBA prospect since an 18-year-old LeBron James took the league by storm a year after Yao’s selection, it’s not guaranteed that Wembanyama’s game will translate to the NBA right away.
He knows it. Or maybe, he’s just being humble.
“The road is going to be very long for me to reach the top, but I’m ready to learn from anybody,” Wembanyama said.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based website Heavy.com.
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