Wembanyama Dazzles After High Praise From LeBron James, Steph Curry

If you had never heard of Victor Wembanyama prior to his performance in the G-League Showcase on Thursday, get to know the 7’4” power forward that has left fans and NBA draft scouts intrigued while catching plenty of attention from two of the NBA’s best stars.

Wembanyama plays for the French team, Metropolitans 92. In a second matchup between the talented forward and G-League Ignite guard and sensation Scoot Henderson on Thursday afternoon, Wembanyama produced another dazzling performance, finishing with 36 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in Metropolitans 92’s 112–106 victory against the Ignite.

Wembanyama is not your typical forward. The Frenchman and Henderson are the projected top two picks in the 2023 NBA draft. However, player such Lakers star LeBron James consider the 18-year-old more than just another “unicorn” preparing to enter the NBA a year from now.

“…Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien,” James said after watching the 18-year-old play earlier this week. “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.”

Wembanyama is considered to be one of the best prospects to ever come out of Europe. Warriors’ star Steph Curry believes Wembanyama is pretty special as well.

"He’s like a ‘2K create a player,” Curry said.

While Henderson suffered a knee injury after a collision with Wembanyama and did not return in Thursday’s game, the first matchup between the two on Tuesday resulted in a 122–115 win for the Ignite in which Henderson finished with 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds.

With two games played in the United States under NBA rules and a standard league length of time, Wembanyama did not disappoint. With that, players like James consider the forward a “generational talent.”

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