Victor Wembanyama Could Actually Be Better Than We Thought

Victor Wembanyama was in front of the spotlight well before the San Antonio Spurs took him off the board with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Basketball fans in the United States were introduced to Wembanyama through rumors about some superhuman talent over in France who couldn’t be contained and was sure to take over the NBA almost instantly.

 That superhuman talent was, of course, Wembanyama, and the rumors? Well, those were true.

Now in Year 2, Wembanyama continues to put his stamp on the league, with his biggest breakthrough coming on Wednesday. He got to play on Christmas for the first time and didn’t disappoint in front of millions of national viewers, pouring in a game-high 42 points on 16-of-31 shooting to go along with 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

San Antonio ended up falling 117-114 to the New York Knicks, but the result almost didn’t matter. What did was the fact that we got to see history unfold right before our eyes.

Wilt Chamberlain (45 points) and Tracy McGrady (43) are the only two players in NBA history to score more points in their first career Christmas game.

There’s going to be plenty of overreactions to Wembanyama’s performance over the next 48 hours, so allow me to join the party.

Here I go: Wembanyama is a top-five player in the league.

Usually it takes more than 96 games at this level to make that determination, but that isn’t the case here. Wembanyama is the real deal. He’s already proving that he has a higher ceiling than some of the NBA’s best.

Right now, give me Wembanyama over everybody but Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. A case can be made for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.0 steals per game) and Jayson Tatum (29.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.1 steals per game), too, but I might still be rocking with Wemby.

What gives Wembanyama the edge over so many of today’s stars—young and old—is what he’s been able to do on the defensive end. In an era where offense rules, Wembanyama has been a human highlight reel on defense. The guy blocked 10 shots against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday before swatting away eight more on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Those are numbers you just don’t see anymore.

If this is what we’re getting from Wembanyama less than 100 games into his career, what does the future hold? What kind of numbers will he be putting up five years from now? How about 10? Fifteen?

We could be witnessing one of the greatest players of our generation just getting started. I’ve already made one bold claim, though, so I won’t commit to that one just yet.

Get used to putting out the milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, waking up to unwrap gifts, then turning on the television to see Wembanyama on your screen. The more airtime he gets in front of a national audience, the better. This superhuman talent isn’t going anywhere for a long time.