LeBron James declared the teenager to be an alien. He claimed that the basketball world has not seen a phenomenon like the French native. The heaps of praise continued to pour in as the world familiarised itself with the Wembamania. Victor Wembanyama, the 19-year-old, has taken the world by storm. While being the most predicted first pick in the NBA Drafts, Victor has evolved into a phenomenon that each team is hunting for. With this growth in fame, Sports Illustrated wrote a detailed feature about the 7 ft 2-inch star. They did this 21 years ago for LeBron James. The hype around James is akin to that of Victor. Naturally, the question arises – is Victor Wembanyama the next big thing?

Hailing from Versailles, Victor Wembanyama was born into a sports-oriented family. His father was a track-and-field athlete while his mother dabbled into being a basketball player and coach. A few years after birth, his love for basketball flourished, and by the age of 9, he assisted his mother with her job. With this exposure, Victor began to take the craft he was gifted with seriously.

Victor Wembanyama’s growth to fame

With age and experience, Victor rose through the ranks and people in Europe took notice. The year he entered high school, he took part in a development program (INSEP). Following this, he played for ASVEL, a club in the EuroLeague and PRO A league. He faced his share of trials and tribulations but after winning the title with ASVEL, he decided to let go of the team.

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To enable sky-reaching growth for his career, Victor chose to play for the Metropolitans, another basketball club in the PRO A league, the highest level in French Basketball. He realized that he needed to be challenged and playing for the Metropolitans was the perfect place for growth.

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As mentioned by Sports Illustrated, “Wembanyama has become the league’s MVP front-runner, leading his team to second place in the standings.” Having played 22 games for the Metropolitans, Victor has an average of 22.2 points per game. Additionally, he flaunted the French National team’s jersey and helped the team qualify for the FIBA World Cup. He also flew down to the United States and took part in games at Vegas against the NBA G League Ignite.

Each performance on the court left people flabbergasted. He moved with ease and executed plays with dominance. In short, he created magic on the court, a magic never seen before. The 19-year-old grabbed the attention of NBA Legends like Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James, and he continues to be noticed. Almost every other day, the future NBA Star is trending online. With a height of 7 feet 2 inches and his skills, everyone wants Victor to be in their NBA Team.

Is Victor the next LeBron James or Michael Jordan?

In France, Victor doesn’t go unnoticed. People are looking at him, and he is well aware of the same. He travels with a private driver; sometimes, a bodyguard finds his way into Victor’s circle. Until now, Victor has dealt with fame like a professional and this fame is only going to grow.

The basketball prodigy is determined to make it big. He is willing to learn and invest in his craft. He wants to “exceed the expectations.” Those around him claim him to be the smartest in town and commend him for his brilliance. From the looks of it, Victor has the championship and greatness DNA but as mentioned by Sports Illustrated, “he’s almost there, but not yet.”

These words were used to describe LeBron when he started his career in 2003. The same words were on the minds of people when Michael Jordan flaunted the Chicago Bulls jersey for the first time. Both these legends grew with each season and each hurdle. They perfected their craft and with time achieved greatness.

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So could Victor be the next LeBron or Jordan? Well, only time will tell. But with the way things are posed now, it is safe not to write off the possibility.