My lack of patience has put me to trouble says Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama was heralded as basketball’s next generational prospect long before he even made it to the NBA. The French center discovered a 2020 post discussing his debut in a French professional league at the age of 16 and mocked a fan who wrote that he’d never thrive in the NBA.

Observation: “He’s not gonna do that in the NBA.”

Victor Wembanyama asks, “Why not?”
Wembanyama was given generational status before he was 18, with many anticipating that he would dominate the NBA as early as 2019 or 2020. Naturally, those who were unfamiliar with him were cautious to proclaim another 16-year-old European as the next big thing in basketball. However, the 2023 Rookie of the Year has demonstrated that he is a unique generational possibility.

The 20-year-old finished one of the most successful rookie seasons in NBA history, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 3.6 blocks. He led the league in blocks and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, trailing only Rudy Gobert due to the team record.

The Spurs’ 22-60 record likely prevented Wembanyama from becoming the first rookie to earn DPOY, which would have strengthened his argument for the best rookie season since Tim Duncan. Nonetheless, Wembanyama became the first rookie selected to the All-Defense First Team.

He made sure that concerns about his stature and durability were unfounded this season, but his modest workload ensured that he did not sustain a serious injury. With an NBA season under his belt, Wembanyama will most likely add some muscle before his sophomore season to make his body more NBA-ready.

Kevin Garnett Thinks ‘Rookie Bias’ Costs Wembanyama The DPOY
Many commentators and former players were not pleased with Rudy Gobert’s fourth DPOY trophy. Many appreciate Gobert’s defensive abilities, but most disregard his pure ability owing to his lack of perimeter switchability, which is also a problem for him in the 2024 Western Conference finals.

Kevin Garnett, a previous DPOY winner, believes the league did not grant Wembanyama the honor solely because he is a rookie.

“That boy should’ve won a defensive player of the year. I’m just saying. Lord, listen. The league do too much. Oh, he was a rookie. Man, f**k that. If you prove that you can do the job, then you get the job, right? we ain’t seen that type of effect on the defensive end since who, P? Who’s affected? Man, David Robinson, Dikembe, Dream, who got the rim like that, bro he earned that no disrespect to any other person in the league.”

Wembanyama’s counting stats were out of this world and far outshone Gobert, even in Rudy’s prime defensive seasons. However, the league would never set a precedent that a player on a team with less than 25 wins can win DPOY. No player has even been a Finalist for the award in over 20 years with such a poor team record.