At barely 19 years old, from the height of his 2.21 m, Victor Wembanyama is already the delight of his club, the Metropolitans 92, and the French team. But if many see him as the future phenomenon of the NBA, where he is expected to be the next No. 1 in the draft, some still have serious doubts about his potential. Starting with Charles Barkley. In the show Inside the NBA, on the TNT channel, “Chuck” thus calmed the ardor around the tricolor prodigy. In his eyes, it is still too early to say that “Wemby” will be dominant across the Atlantic.
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“Everyone wants this kid and he looks great, but you can’t really tell until he gets to the NBA.he blurted out. It’s going to be a huge adjustment for him, physically. It will be more physical for him than playing against the Czech Republic. » A reference to a qualifying match for the 2023 World Cup, in which the young strong winger of the Blues compiled 22 points, 17 rebounds, 4 steals and 6 blocks. “He’s going to play against adults. And he’s going to have to keep those guys on the other side of the pitch as well, which is going to give him some foul problems. »
“In the NBA, he will play against adults”
For the former legend of the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns, member of the “Dream Team” 1992, Victor Wembanyama must therefore still prove himself. “Look, I’ve been in the NBA for 40 years and I’ve only seen one guy, a guy who didn’t go to college, who came in and was ready, and that’s LeBron ( james). Kobe (Bryant) was great, but he struggled at first. Kevin Garnett was great, but he also struggled at first,” he continued, pointing out that many promising ex-basketball players were too quickly labeled as the “future Michael Jordan”.
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“He’s the next this, he’s the next that… For 40 years, we’ve been like, ‘Well, this is the next Michael Jordan.’ And we never had anotherrecalled Charles Barkley. I want to see the kid play, I hope he’s great. But I can’t sit back and tell you, just because he’s slaughtering guys in the Czech Republic, he’s going to come here and dominate. I do not believe that. » A skepticism which “Sir Charles” had also shown a few years earlier about Luka Doncic, before the Slovenian playmaker arrived in the League. And perform feats.
