There was no surprise who the number one overall pick would be for the 2023 NBA Draft. Victor Wembanyama is a nineteen year-old French NBA player for the San Antonio Spurs. Standing at seven-feet-four-inches with an eight-foot wingspan, Wemby was touted as a potential all-time great player years before he was eligible for the NBA Draft. He dominated the French league and flashed elite offensive and defensive ability. However, some fans and analysts have already become disillusioned with how Wemby has seen his share of struggles. For someone who was touted as a slam-dunk all-time great player, we can only conclude that he was overhyped, no?
The NBA media and broader fanbase are truly the worst in the sports landscape. They constantly overhype players and immediately tear them down when things go slightly wrong. Wemby is the perfect example. He scored thirty-eight points on 58% shooting against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns this season. During that game, he also flashed his elite rim protection ability as Suns players were not interested in challenging him at the rim at all. After the performance, Wemby was touted as being worth the hype and well on his way to being an all-time great. However, the narrative completely flipped when he only scored fourteen points on 29% shooting in his first visit to Madison Square Garden. After the performance, Wemby’s stock had apparently dropped. Was he truly as good defensively as we thought? Are the limitations of his offensive skill set permanent?
Give me a break. This is a nineteen year old international player who plays for one of the worst teams in the NBA. The reason why the Spurs were able to select Wemby was because they were one of the worst teams in the NBA for the 2022-2023 season. If you actually watch the games and ignore the NBA Twitter/X losers, you would understand Wemby as a young player who is trying to find his footing in the league. It should actually be impressive that Wemby has such an impact on the game despite not being comfortable in the league at this point of his early career. The NBA media and the reactionary fans would have you believing Wemby’s entire legacy depends on a singular performance on the second night of a back-to-back.
The truth is, NBA media plays on the cravings of a casual-thinking fanbase. Everything has to be hyped up to the maximum, even when only a mirage exists. In my opinion, this hurts the careers of young players who are expected to do much with very little. The Wemby hype has been elevated to parallel levels of Lebron James during his rookie year. For perspective, Lebron averaged just over twenty points per game with six rebounds and six assists. He won Rookie of the Year and in the following season broke-out into a superstar. However, because Lebron was hyped to such an extreme level, there were serious conversations over whether Carmelo Anthony was the better prospect since Melo averaged slightly more points than LeBron during their rookie years.
Kareem, Wilt, Magic, and Bird probably have the greatest rookie seasons in the history of the league. Even the great Michael Jordan needed a few years to fully grow into the league. Before we shut the book on Wemby’s career and label him overhyped, can we see more than eleven games? Before putting him on the top ten all-time list with Magic, Kobe and Lebron, can we give him at least one season? I sure hope so, or else all we will feel is bitter disappointment.