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Meet “The French Mamba” Victor Wembanyama: The Best Prospect in NBA History

Updated: Oct 17, 2025


Throughout the NBA's illustrious history, we fans have had the privilege of witnessing the most talented and breathtaking basketball players on the planet. We have witnessed the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and many others. Many prospects come in with fanfare, but few can say they match the hype of the presumptive favorite to go No. 1 in the 2023 NBA Draft, 7-foot-4 French center Victor Wembanyama. I call him "The French Freak" for a reason; he stands tall at 7'4" and boasts an impressive 8-foot wingspan! Are you kidding me?!



Many NBA GMs, executives, and fans have been drooling over Wembanyama's development throughout his career, not just because of his sheer size, but also because of the way he moves at that size, combined with his unique skill set at 7'4", which is unprecedented in the sport's history. Yes, we’ve seen guys with crazy measurements. Throughout NBA history, there have been players with similar measurements who have not achieved success, such as Mohamed Bamba and Bol Bol. Nonetheless, none of them, including Wembanyama, began playing professionally at a young age or were dubbed the best prospect in the world by former NBA Draft expert Mike Schmitz when he was 15-16 years old.


He’s been on the radar for years. Still, he truly burst onto the scene in 2020 when a video went viral of the then 16-year-old Wembanyama challenging multi-time Defensive Player of the Year and fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert to a friendly game of two-on-two, and scouts and GMs were immediately enamored.


The hype only grew as he had a masterful U19 FIBA tournament, making the first team of the tournament along with two future NBA top-five picks in this year's draft class, Jaden Ivey and 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren, who also has a similar skill set to Wembanyama. That game was Wembanyama’s true breakout party to the draft world, as he put up 22 points, 8 rebounds, and a whopping 8 blocks against a USA team that was more than two years younger than him.


He held Holmgren to just 10 points and made an incredible fadeaway shot while falling near the baseline, a move we have never seen a big man of his size execute at that age. Wembanyama demonstrated his full range of skills, including stepping out and making three-pointers, swatting or altering shots, and even performing a behind-the-back dribble in transition at 7'3 to finish at the rim! He was otherworldly. 


Unfortunately, he and the French national team lost to the USA in that gold medal game. However, Wembanyama showed why Schmitz dubbed him the best prospect in the world just nine months earlier, before this tournament.


Is Wembanyama the best prospect in NBA history?

  • 0%Yes, we've never seen anything like him

  • 0%No it's LeBron

  • 0%No, it's Kareem

  • 0%Other



Last season, he played for former French and legendary San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker’s ASVEL Euroleague team in 2021-22. Last season at ASVEL, his numbers didn't stick out for someone deemed a generational talent, averaging just 9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and less than a steal and block per game. He shot 47% from the field, 26% from three, and 60% from the foul line at just 17 years of age while playing against grown men.


Just look at the highlights of this kid at 17 years old last season against grown men! His PER 36 numbers were 18.4 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and an impressive 3.5 blocks per game. He struggled with foul trouble, averaging 4.9 fouls per game, but showed flashes of the ability to put the ball on the floor, take shots off the dribble, protect the rim, and do things we rarely ever saw from a big man.


The hype for Wenbayama couldn’t have possibly grown any more than it has already. Welp, it exploded. This week, his current team, Metropolitans 92, a French professional basketball team, played two exhibition games against the NBA G League Ignite, which also featured another highly coveted NBA prospect in Scoot Henderson, who is expected to go second overall in this upcoming class


Over 200 NBA GMs, executives, and media members gathered in the building in Las Vegas for the first of the two games on Tuesday, eagerly anticipating the spectacle of the presumptive top two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft in June, who put on the best No. 1 vs. No. 2 game in NBA history. They immediately scored their first points of the game with a pull-up jumper.


The next defensive trip down for the Metropolitans saw Wembanyama use his pterodactyl-like wingspan to swat a shot that caused an Ignite turnover. He then came down the other end, put it on the ground, and did a filthy spin move against his defender to finish with beautiful English off the glass at 7’4! Henderson would finish the game with 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists with just one turnover in the game, which is unheard of for a young point guard, especially one who is as dynamic and athletic as Henderson.


He was efficient too, shooting 11-of-21 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Henderson did it in transition with a vicious slam coming off a steal; he did step-back threes, including one over the outstretched arm of Wembanyama. He just ran the offense like a seasoned veteran by running the pick-and-roll, finding open shooters and cutters whenever he drove into the lane and made the defense collapse onto him. His poise and awareness are rare to see from an 18-year-old.


Henderson also had some amazing finishes at the rim over the absurd length of Wembanyama, using different angles and the glass to protect him from the “French Mamba outstretched arms, though he did get rejected on quite a few, including a dunk attempt and a few jumpers.


Henderson would leave the second game early in the first quarter due to colliding knees while trying to defend a Wembanyama drive. But he already showed why many NBA scouts and GMs are comparing him to past explosive star guards a la Ja Morant or Russell Westbrook.

Despite the Ignite's victory in the first game and Henderson's confirmation of his legitimacy, it was the 7-foot-4 Frenchman who left fans in awe with his performance over the two games. Wembanyama finished with 37 points on 11-of-20 from the field (55%), an absurd 7-11 from three (63%), had four rebounds, and five blocks! He was doing it all, blocking shots on the perimeter to defending the rim at an elite level. He also showed insane shot creation ability, from pull-up threes in transition to curling off screens, and on one play, he even did a pull-back three just for fun and cashed it.


Can you imagine a 7-foot-4 guy performing such feats? How do you guard that?! As impressive as Wembanyama was in the first game, he was even better in the second one, scoring 36 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists along with 4 blocks. The second game lost some of its luster due to Henderson leaving the game due to a bone bruise to his knee, but Wembanyama made sure to put on a show to keep it interesting.


Wembanyama demonstrated why he is considered the best prospect since the LeBron era and the most highly anticipated No. 1 pick in June's draft. The fall-away three-pointer he made—catching and hitting the shot while fading away to his right in the corner out of bounds—is jaw-dropping given his size. What about the hashmark three he made from about 28 feet out and shot because he wanted to?


What do you do with this? He’s a demigod. Many of the top NBA stars in today’s game, from LeBron to Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, have all raved about the French phenom:


LeBron: "Everybody has been a unicorn for the last two years, but he's more like an alien. I've never seen—no one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor.”


Steph: "He's like a 2K create-a-player; every point guard who wants to be 7-foot.”

"Cheat code-type vibes; he's a solid talent. It's great to watch."


KD: "That type of talent and skill just puts a smile on your face if you play basketball,” Durant said on Thursday night. "The evolution of the game has taken us this far. We got a 7'5" dude that's able to do everything on the court. It's inspiring to a lot of people." 

"The league's really in trouble when he comes in."


Giannis: “I believe in 2045, everybody is going to look like Victor.” 

“He has the chance to be one of the best, not at his age, not in Europe, but one of the best to ever play this game. We have never seen someone like that before. I think it’s a good challenge for everybody in the league to have somebody who’s 7-foot-2 and can shoot over you, dribble like he’s a guard, block shots, and run down the floor fast. We got to get ready for this kid, you know? He’s going to be good.”


Talk about high praise from arguably the four best players in the league and the three best players of a generation: LeBron, Steph, and KD. NBA Senior Insider and Columnist Adrian Wojnarowski called Wembanyama the singular greatest prospect in NBA history earlier this week, and I mostly agree with that assessment, as many will after what Wembanyama showed in these two games in Vegas this week.


Whether Wembanyama can live up to the hype will depend on his ability to stay healthy, as there have been numerous 7-footers in NBA history who have suffered from injuries, including Bill Walton, Greg Oden, Yao Ming, and Kristaps Porzingis. He and his team have already begun seeking the best health specialists in advance, focusing on top experts for his back, foot, and other areas to minimize the risk of injury to this potentially transformational talent. 


Wembanyama will also have to get stronger, but he already has the frame and broad shoulders to do so. He looks stronger than he did last season. Overall, “The French Mamba” is arguably the best prospect in NBA history and the best since LeBron 20 years ago when he entered in 2003—yes, better than Kevin Durant (‘07), Anthony Davis (‘12), Ben Simmons (‘16), Luka Doncic (‘18), Zion Williamson (‘19), Cade Cunningham (‘21), and so forth due to his absurd size and two-way skillset.


He’s the first of his kind, and it will be interesting to see if he lives up to the hype. Wembanyama possesses a strong mentality and a strong desire to excel, traits that one would expect from a player of his caliber.


Let the tanking begin!





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