Is John Salley Right in Stating That Victor Wembanyama Will Change the Game of Basketball?

In the dynamic world of the NBA, there are certain players whose arrival changes the trajectory of the sport of basketball. Just like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, the legacy of such players could be something that is talked about for generations to come. One such player who is in contention to be in the same category as the names mentioned earlier is 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama. Despite having been a part of the NBA for barely a few months, the young prodigy is already making waves with his unreal talent.

He has succeeded in garnering the attention of fans and basketball analysts, all of whom hold varying opinions on what future the player holds. Amongst them, 4x NBA champion John Salley has come out to make a bold claim.

John Salley praised Victor Wembanyama’s performance

John Salley was a prominent name in the 90s NBA. Having suited up for the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, Salley was able to win 4 championships in 14 years. But nowadays, the 59-year-old shows up on different podcasts to dissect the state of today’s NBA. A few days ago, Salley made an appearance on Skip Bayless’s ‘Undisputed’ show. During the same, the duo discussed whether the expectations set for Victor Wembanyama were too high this season.

Placing his own viewpoint to the forefront, the former NBA player went on to state that he believes Victor Wembanyama is someone who will “change the game”. Along with praising his massive stature, Salley commented on how Wembanyama’s “stroke” is similar to that of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant. Salley also took the opportunity to draw a contrast between the 19-year-old and Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal.

“Shaq can breakdance, rap, can dribble the ball, all those different things,” said Salley during the interview. “This kid (Wembanyama) can dunk standing still.”

Salley commented that San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is allowing Wembanyama to be the “best version of himself” at the moment. Despite that fact, the former player believes that Wembanyama needs to play for a few more years and learn some important techniques to be considered as a rising prodigy.

Victor Wembanyama faced off against Kevin Durant and emerged victorious

In his first five regular season games, Wembanyama gave the impression of someone who continues to be on a learning curve. At the same time, he started to defy any doubts that people would have held against him. When facing off against Kevin Durant and his Phoenix Suns over a month ago, Wembanyama held his own and scored an astonishing 38 points for his team. At the same time, he garnered an additional 10 rebounds and 2 assists to his name.

Doing this against KD, who the Frenchman has often been compared to on several occasions, must have felt special. It definitely gave a big boost to Wemby’s credibility. That game alone created the belief that Wembanyama is not just any other player.

The French Sensation continues to defy expectations

Wembanyama’s scoring ability is not the only thing that is allowing him to be considered as a great NBA prospect. When talking about his defensive prowess, the young rookie has made use of his astonishing length to block players from shooting over him. His rim protection has been classified as “elite” by various reports.

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In today’s era of basketball, bigs are getting beaten by smaller and quicker players. Wemby’s skills are helping him set the opposite example. Fans saw the same a few weeks ago when the player managed to effectively block Jalen Williams just as he had cleared a path for himself towards the rim. When playing against the Denver Nuggets, he was seen anticipating the opposition’s plays in advance and disrupting their execution perfectly. In the end, no one was more impressed with it than Nuggets star and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic.

“The guy is guarding everybody on the floor. He can literally guard one through five,” said Jokic during an interview. “And I think that’s a good thing for him, just to learn every possible spot on the floor.”

Going into the season, there were some doubts about whether Wembanyama’s massive stature would turn out to be a disadvantage for the Spurs. Given the problems and injuries that players like Yao Ming and Kristaps Porzingis sustained during their careers, people were worried whether Wemby would also miss out on games due to injuries. Till now, however, he has missed out on only one game and hasn’t sustained any serious injury.

The Final Verdict

If there were any doubts as to whether this first draft pick would perform well during the season, all of them were squished over these past few weeks. Through his scoring ability and his great defensive skills, Wemby has proven himself as an exceptional player.

It is important to acknowledge that while the rookie carries immense potential to his name, the journey to becoming a game-changer in the NBA is a marathon, not a sprint. Players like Magic Johnson didn’t stop being excellent just because they struck success very early on. While the author agrees with John Salley’s comments, the world needs to see just a little more of Victor Wembanyama before making a final judgement.

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Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.