After exploding for 41 points and 24 rebounds in a double-overtime Western Conference Finals win, Victor Wembanyama entered territory only Wilt Chamberlain had reached before in a Conference Finals debut. This earned the forward a comparison to a Houston Rockets legend.

The historic showing only pushed the all-time comparisons even louder, and when Dan Patrick asked Carlos Boozer who Wembanyama reminded him of most, the answer caught plenty by surprise.

“The closest thing that I can think of as far as his size and touch and footwork was probably Yao Ming,” Boozer said on the Dan Patrick Show.

In addition to those numbers, the San Antonio Spurs forward also registered three assists and blocks.

“Yao Ming was 7-foot-6, great touch, good footwork on the block, fadeaway jump shots. Very powerful.” Boozer further added. “He did not move anything like Wemby, of course. Very different style of play. But that was probably the closest that I personally played against.”

The Yao comparison is more revealing than it might appear on the surface. Victor Wembanyama is averaging 22.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game through 11 playoff appearances in 2026.

Those numbers would be historically exceptional for any big man. That’s what makes the Yao reference meaningful is the specific dimension Boozer highlighted: touch.

 Yao Ming shot 83.3% from the free-throw line for his career and was universally regarded as having one of the softest shooting touches among big men in NBA history.

Boozer’s point was that Wembanyama shares that quality, the ability to manipulate a basketball with precision despite having hands that are larger than most players’ foreheads.

The Frenchman averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and a league-leading 3.1 blocks per game during the regular season, shooting 51.2% from the field.

He became the first player since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to average at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. The O’Neal comparison is the one the analytics crowd gravitates toward.

The Yao comparison is that of a man who played the same position as both of them reached for instead, built not on volume or dominance, but on feel, footwork, and the kind of skill refinement that only reveals itself to players who have stood in the paint across from it.

But even with the surprising comparison, Boozer made it clear he was not calling Victor Wembanyama a carbon copy of Yao Ming.

The Player Boozer Played Against, and What He Couldn’t Do

The caveat Boozer offered is as instructive as the comparison itself. Yao Ming, for all his gifts, was a largely stationary offensive force, a back-to-the-basket center who carved up defenses through positioning and touch rather than movement.

Ming’s career spanned eight seasons before foot and ankle injuries ended it.

He did not switch pick-and-rolls. He did not step out and pull up from 30 feet. He did not glide from one end to the other at 7-foot-6 in a way that made defenders freeze at first sight.

Boozer knew all of that, which is why he prefaced the comparison with “for people who don’t know,” which seemed like a deliberate acknowledgment that he may have reached for the closest available reference point, not a genuine equivalent.

Monday night’s Game 1 performance against the Thunder, which ended with Wembanyama hitting a clutch pull-up jumper in overtime that drew immediate comparisons to Stephen Curry, was the latest piece of evidence that the search for a comparison is itself the point.

Carlos Boozer played in the league for 13 years and faced Yao Ming repeatedly. The best he could offer was the closest thing, but still not close. That, more than any statistic, may be the most honest assessment of what the NBA is currently watching.