Victor Wembanyama has lived up to the hype so far. The teenager has made everyone understand why he was the undeniable first pick in the 2023 draft. His preseason stats are just a prelude to how great he can be. Shaquille O’Neal is also getting ready for the regular season, as ‘Inside the NBA‘ will premiere with the season opener in Denver.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend was asked about his pick for the Rookie of the Year award for the 2023–2024 season. He wasted no time in giving his response, even though he is worried about the 7’4 rookie’s availability.

Shaquille O’Neal makes his Rookie of the Year selection

Everyone has seen Victor Wembanyama dominate in the preseason. He averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks, 1.5 three-pointers, and 1.0 steals in 21.0 minutes of action. With him still figuring out the pace of the game at the NBA level and understanding all the systems of the San Antonio Spurs, it is only going to get better from here.

Shaquille O’Neal understands just that and chose Victor as his Rookie of the Year for the upcoming season. NBA 2K posted this on social media along with Victor’s choice for the award, and he chose himself.

After getting drafted, Wembanyama has revealed that he has added 15-20 pounds of muscle. The effect of this was visible when he went up against other players in the preseason, like Chet Holmgren, who also has a physical build like him.

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Wemby did not just shoot the ball in the preseason but also put his head down and drove to the basket. Once he starts incorporating the post moves after adding some more muscle, he is sure to be a nightmare on the floor.

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Of course, his real test will be against players like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antekounmpo, who are sure to move him out of their way with their physicality. So Shaq also shared some criticism regarding the rookie.

Shaq has concerns about Wembanyama

It’s not a surprising pick to have Wembanyama win Rookie of the Year, as all the stats point to him having a great year with the Spurs. But Shaq did not believe in Wembanyama as much as before.

A few months ago, Shaq went as far as saying that he was not very big. This has led to Shaq stopping all comparisons between Wembanyama and himself. Shaq said, “He’s tall, but he’s building up a lot of muscles, not that strong. He can shoot, he can dribble, he can do all that.“

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Shaquille O’Neal understands both sides of having a player like Wembanyama on your team. But it can go either way. He can have a dominant season if he goes at the pace he is currently going, or he can have an injury when going up against the strong players in the NBA.

Do you think Victor Wembanyama will have an easy road to Rookie of the Year? Let us know in the comments!