Victor Wembanyama: The Greatest Rookie EVER? 

Fill in the blank…. Wemby is the BEST Rookie since ______

You really think he’s better than Anthony Bennett?! I’m unsubscribing.

Don't short change Larry Bird's rookie season: 21.3 PPG 10.4 RPG 4.5 APG FG 47.4% Wins added: +32, which was an NBA record at the time.

Just a reminder, Wilt won the rookie of the year AND the MVP awards at the same season! 😉🥇🏆

Wemby has the skills to be a top 10 of all time. I wouldn't put money on it though because the risk of an injury shortened career is just too high.

I've been saying all season - this is what a Kareem/Wilt-type prospect looks like in the 21st century. Wemby is even getting some of the Wilt foot-dragging...nobody roots for Goliath.

More than anything else about his game, I love Wemby's mentality. The guy absorbs basketball knowledge like a sponge, is already making huge improvements to his game, and has a knack for playing big in crunch time. He even has that competitive fire intact despite his team's record, and is a team player. The only flaw in his personality is that he's french, but no one can be perfect I suppose.

Jordan came in totally dominating and left the game totally dominating

The "tougher era" argument actually works both ways. It is much harder for Victor to be an elite defender in this era when the rules favor offense.

People hate on this dude so much. Hes. An unbelievable player. He definitely is that. And then some

Wemby will end up in the goat debate if he doesn't get a career ending injury before he can get there

Great video as usual Jonny ! Even though I do agree with you on the fact that no player should win an individual award while his team simply sucks, but at the same time, records and teams rankings aside, Wemby is the best defender in the league rn.

I think the growth in assists is the most underrated aspect. Since the all star game he is 3rd among assists for centers behind only Jokic and sabonis(4th if you count draymond as a center). He is literally 5th in career assists per game by centers, and if he just maintained the same average from the end of the season he would be 2nd all time by the end of next year. The eye test shows even more. Just watching the reads he makes is amazing and a lot of the potential assists are either swung for a different shot or a missed open shot.

Not the greatest rookie, but a damn good one

If Victor Wembenyama develops a consistent Skyhook OMG

Different Era and More international players so ofc Wemby is a freak of nature with being like 7'3 with shooting, DPOY potential on the defensive side,and he can handle the ball. He is very hyped up player so lets see if he can have a healthy career

I'm 55 and I certainly didn't experience Kareem's rookie season and I don't know the context of the time. Using statistics is a useful but not decisive distinction. It has been evident throughout the season that Popovic's objective has never been to use Wembanyama's skills to the best of his ability but rather has tried to give him a season of pure running-in while minimizing the risk of injury as much as possible also because It was clear right from the start that the goal is the next draft. In this sense, the impression left is more important than the numbers and if you really want to take a statistic into consideration, the fact that a player like him is the most efficient player of the season in step-back three-point shots, i.e. the play that defines the today's basketball era game more than any other, seems astonishing to me.

I genuinely think Spurs trying to tank for a top pick in the 2024 draft. While Alex Sarr is the first pick in the draft who is a great 2 way player and can recreate the twin tower duo and make it basically impossible to score at the rim, but someone like Reed Shepard does even better as while he might only be 6’4, he’s a menace on defence, shooting over 50% from the 3 point line and a outstanding playmaker which is Wembys perfect teammate to acquire. If Reed Shepard is drafted next year, we might see Spurs already in the playoffs within their Wembys 2nd year. I’m not a spurs fan but I want to see Wemby reach heights we’ve never seen so I want the best for him and same for Reed Shepard.

Its the best player I've ever see in my life. If he is still healthy, he will be the Wilt of XXI Century

I just hope he can stay healthy 🙏. I would love to see him reaching his top potential and where it takes him. Basketball needs that.

Great content as always. 🇧🇬

Wilt was the greatest rookie. VW may be the best defensive rookie ever.

So you think an individual award should be predicated on team achievement? I don't think you know what these words mean.

bro if hes getting muscle and gets a giannis build its fucking OVER

It’s crazy that you can call his first 35 games bad. That just shows how historical he has been since. His first 35 is still phenomenal for a rookie

I love how Wembanyama played this season and he was a defensive beast as well, but a being on a team with a losing record and there being a near equal defensive player (Gobert) that's on a team that is one of the best in the league and he is one of the main reasons, the award should go to Rudy Gobert.

Who knows what the future will bring for Wemby. I just hope he stays healthy, as he is fun to watch play.

I will never understand why the spurs never made a trade for veteran pg like cp3 or lowry for wemby rookie season that team needs a veteran in the locker room to guide the young players

If he has longevity and stays productive, he'll be in the goat conversation for sure. It's mind-boggling to imagine how much potential he has to improve

I think Rudy deserves DPOTY, but I think it would be reasonable if Wemby won, part of his team defense being bad is just that it is completely horrendous in the minutes he doesn't play. They play like a top 5 defense while he is on the court. He is definitely not the best rookie ever, but all the clearly better ones like Kareem and Wilt were older. Kareem was 22, Wilt 23, and David Robinson 24. Basically, I think he has a pretty good case for the best prospect ever and is so good he is in the unenviable position where if he is "only" the 10th best player ever that would be disappointing. His goal should not be to be as good as Steph Curry, or Hakeem, his goal with his physical gifts should be to end the LeBron, MJ debate, by making it a debate for 2nd. Not only did he just maybe have the best 20 year old season ever (him, Shaq, or Bron), but of those he improved the fastest within that season by far, and has the most room to improve his game and get better, and he seemingly has a vastly better mentality than Shaq.

Only health problems will keep this guy from being top 10 -- and with good health, top 5 is entirely possible. He should absolutely be in the top 10 rookie seasons discussion, though.

I'll bring up Larry Bird, who had similar statistics while meaning worlds more to his team's W/L record improvement. Larry clearly was making a difference in that locker room, and that's what gives him the edge.

Great video, Jonny! Wemby is amazing and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him. He's had an incredible rookie season. I really like the historical comparisons you gave. Like you, I don't think he's the greatest rookie either, but he is definitely up there as having one of the best rookie seasons of all time. I agree with you that he shouldn't win DPOY this year for the same reasons you gave. Hopefully, the Spurs will be better next season. I'm excited to see Wemby's improvement though. He has a very high ceiling. Have a great rest of the week! Take care :).

are we acting as if Wilton Norman Chamberlain, Walter Jones Bellamy (most underrated and underappreciated player not named Bob Lanier), and Oscar Palmer Robertson don’t exist? …..k

The greatest rookie ever(not stats wise)was Earvin"Magic"Johnson who took over Center duties in a pivotal game 6 of the NBA Finals because Kareem was out due to a severely sprained ankle. At the 76er's homecourt(The Spectrum)Magic scored 42 points, had 15 rebounds, and 7 assists, & took home the NBA Finals MVP trophy🏆for helping the Lakers win the title in only his rookie season!!!

Would you make a video about Gortat screen ?

In Rudy's previous DPOY wins, I was of the opinion that he got a lot of credit that should be attributed to teammates like Joe Ingles and Bojan, and had personally picked a different winner each time. I'm not the biggest Rudy fan in general, but this year, as much as I'd like to remain biased, I think he's pretty clearly deserving of the award.

Best rookie season is Wilt followed by Wes Unseld (both won MVPs).

I think the fact that they are not a playoff team is a big minus. There are rookies who contribute so much to their team that they earn the greatest rookie title: Larry Bird. Bird and Magic also transformed the entire league. There are other rookies who transformed the game. Wilt Chamberlain began by smashing records and continued to break records that stand to this day. Rules were changed to make it more difficult for Wilt to score. If defensive players were better acknowledged during Wilt’s era, there would be DPOY awards and accolades for Wilt. Thanks Jonny ❤

Barring any injury webenyama will go down as a top 5 player of all time. He breaks the game in a similar fashion as steph, has the right mindset to get better, and looks hungry for the competition. He might become the most dominant player over shaq. I believe that one of the biggest reasons for the spurs losing is chemistry and not playing wemby more

Question is where do YOU rank Wemby's rookie season among the other great rookie seasons?

I have never liked basketball. I don't watch basketball. Yet I can't stop watching Wenby highlights. WoW! Greatest human event made!

The NBA is not a purely Basketball game anymore, it is blended with Business Earnings, Political Correctness, International Pressures. It would make good marketing for Wemby to WIn the DPOY and it won't even be a far stretch that many would disagree vehemently. So with some confidence I think he will win it.

Dream n Admiral n timmy n shaq had a better rookie season too

GREATEST ROOKIE IN NBA 🏀 HISTORY: WILT CHAMBERLAIN .. THEN OSCAR ROBERTSON .. THEN WALT BELLAMY ..

I understand the argument against him not winning DPOY over Rudy, per se, if and only IF you view the award as a 'defensive MVP' award (which I think is openly up for interpretation by the voters and media/fans). I personally see if more as who was the most impactful defender - and my argument is that you can still be the best defender in the league even if you're on a terrible team. It doesn't make sense to me to penalize the one guy who actually seems to give a shit in SA right now (yea, pop, I'm looking at you) bc of his team / front office incompetency. Switch Rudy and Victor and I guarantee the wolves are a better defensive team.

Never clicked on a video so fast

I would be money on the fact that Kobe was not the one who came up with the "second place is just the first loser" line :D.

Wemby didn’t have a point guard for part of the year, and he was playing out of position, on a minute restriction. The team was tanking all year. Look at the end of the year where the spurs second team beat the champs. He also has a lot more bags then creamer and wilt. 🎉

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 28.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 82 games his rookie year. They didn't track blocks until his third year.

Personally, I’m really excited to watch him in the playoffs in these upcoming years

He's not. DRob, Jordan,Wilt, Kareem, Lebron, and Bird and Duncan were better. Season turnarounds do mean something. Not to mention the era.

As the season went on, he got cartoonishly good and he is already putting on weight.

Wemby is almost certainly not going to fill out like Giannis, but he doesn't need to. With his frame and playstyle, he should take a lot of cues from Kareem's career and one of the main ones is to fill out his trunk and lower body strength to be harder to throw around by larger, stronger bigs. Beyond that, getting a little stronger in his upper body won't hurt but doesn't seem to matter a ton given how much of his game is about finesse and fluidity. He's humiliating people nightly at his current physique so I don't think he needs to transform himself into a ripped Giannis type to become an all-time superstar.

Maybe spurs were tanking but main win is wemby made it through his first season still healthy that's huge

Not even the best Spurs rookie. David Robinson had a better rookie year, and instantly made the Spurs a playoff team.

All I'll say as a nuggets fan is that im glad we got ours before this freak of nature got in the league. Im im hoping we can get one or two more before he gets teamates

🏀

We are looking at history here. I truly believe Victor Wembanyama will be one of the top 10 best playes of all time if he doesn't get injured. His potential is unmatched

The top ten argument will continue to get harder and harder as time goes on. I’m already starting conversations about my lists too 15s or tiers!

The best rookie season of all time Magic Johnson’s in 1980

What’s the name of this beat

Rookie Kareem had better numbers and secured a better record, but rookie Kareem also played *43 minutes* a game and was given the keys every night. I don't understand how the Spurs were supposed to go from a bottom lottery team to a playoff team just by drafting one guy and playing him on a minutes restriction. The rest of these rookies were given the green light earlier than Vic.

Wemby is the DPOY. His impact when he was on the court dwarfed AD and Rudy. Btw, I think AD had a better defensive season than Rudy as well. When Wemby sits the Spurs have the worst defense in the league but when he’s in the game the Spurs are a top 5 defense. When Rudy sits the team is about the same. DPOY is an individual award and individually Wemby is far and away the best defender in the NBA. No Wemby isn’t the greatest Rookie ever. Wilt, Kareem and Magic are at least equal if not better as rookies. Shaq and David Robinson were also good comparisons. The area that makes Wembys rookie season so great is how he was doing it… elite defensively, offense was good but not great however he was good in passing, shooting, step backs, in the paint, everywhere. If there is any hole in his game it’s his turnovers as he gives up the rock a lot. If he progresses consistently and doesn’t take his talents to some other top 5’s team, gets more than 5 rings, a couple DPOY’s and finals MVP’s I can see him having a legit claim to the goat title when it’s all said an done.

no even the best rookie season as a Spur, David Robinson had a much better rookie season than Wemby

What do you think about Spencer Haywood's rookie year? I know he was in the ABA but he won the MVP in his rookie season while averaging 30 points per game and 19.5 rebounds per game. He also played all 84 games that season.

1:49 showing first half of season where he still figure his game out BPG: 3.1💀

U madr a really good point. Wilt will allawys be first. Kareem will probably allawys be second. But wemby has a top 5 case for best rookie ever

Wemby is an amazing player already and he’s only going to get better! He should be ROY and DPOY coz he’s a once in a lifetime franchise player you build around! He won’t get these awards coz his teams record of 21-61 will be the determining factor! If San Antonio pairs him with a solid superstar, the Spurs Dynasty will be reborn! He needs to build himself stronger and hopefully doesn’t have any type of career ending injuries!

Give it to VW now. We know who the best defender is, it’s him. This year, in particular. Next 5 seasons aren’t guaranteed, remember that.

Most hyped since Zion, let's be real. Zion had insane hype also.

He my DPOY

The DPOY is based on Personal stats not team Wins/Losses Correct?

🎉❤

I gotta say this. Victor trained with literal NBA players before he even came into the league. Lebron didn’t. I feel like Wemby got a boost that a lot of other phenomenal rookies didn’t get. Imagine if they did though. It’d be a different story. On top of that he’s a big man so rebounds are going to be automatic. I wouldn’t say greatest rookie of all time, but amazing season though and he deserves Roty and Dpoy.

Wemby's on the court with the team defensive rating on the court in his since January and Wemby's off the court the worst team defence. That said it all. Wemby is the DPOTY

When Wemby gains 50 pounds of.muscle, he will be a force to be reckoned with

Comparing the rookies stats on 36min I can say for sure that on indidual stats Wembanyama had a better rookie season than LeBron. He also was better than Robinson, Shaq... Embiid was close to be a better rookie but he played only 36 games.

Pop is absolutely tanking. I have almost 0 doubt about it. The way they played with Wemby makes no sense

He might be best rookie since Kareem. That minutes restriction really gives him an edge over lot of other players. But idk Magics rookie year was good too. But injuries is the only thing that could stop him from being a top 10 all time player. Both the eye test and the stats clearly show it. If you can’t see that then your just blind

He's rightfully getting hyped up. As long as he stays healthy he's going to be one of the best for a long time but best rookie ever? No, too much over hyping in that regard and the Spurs being terrible despite his fantastic play should immediately disqualify him from that particular discussion.

Chet had the rookie season everyone thought wemby would have, and wemby had a rookie season was like a sustained version of game 1 MCW

Greatest Rookie comparison is a bit unfair. Wemby was just 19, other greats like Tim Duncan, Kareem, MJ and so on were 2 or 3 years older.

wemby has the potential to be the GOAT. Injuries are just too big of a factor for his size to make that potential a reality

Wemby is the best blocker of the league and one one the most skilled defenser. But because he cannot "infuse" on his teamates like gobert do I will give the DPOY to Rudy. But Wemby is a close 2nd

Wemby for DPOTY !

I have wemby in a 2k association I play vs my homie, and in a bad game and a loss last night I got 30, 20, 9, 3 and 3 (in 8 minute quarters). Dude's busted. Homie hates that I have him. All I can say is it's not my fault MJ is 7'4

All i can say is that Wemby is the best defensive player in the league right now ... AS A ROOKIE... OK i get the argument for him not getting it but he is the best defensive player in the league right now .. AS A ROOKIE... it's not even close

Arnett=Goat

If Wemby puts the work in he'll be in the GOAT debate and is only thr third player in my estimation since MJ to have a really good chance at that, Bron and Shaq being the first two.

Wilt chamberlain averaged 37 and 24 his rookie season not counting blocks or steals

I don't think he's DPOY yet but definitely top 5. And i think he top 5-10 rookies ever but i also have someone like Duncan over him for rookie seasons. He has ABSURDLY high potential tho

Spurs still have the same record this year as they had last year when they were tanking for Wemby, so I cant put him in the greatest rookie camp. Maybe the greatest 20 year old though, although Lebron was 27/7/7 and led his team to 42 wins at 20yo. But he doesn't compare to rookies like MJ, Magic, Bird, Wilt, Kareem and probably a few more Im not thinking of. They were 21-22 yo coming into the league and had more developed games/bodies as rookies, and also impacted winning immediately for their new team. But he is still unbelievable to watch play defense.

I know he’s a rookie but you can’t compare him to Kareem or Wilt they were both 22 years old not 19 like Wemby. Let’s see what happens in three years from now. Wow.

Kareem played 4 years of college basketball and averaged 43 minutes his rookie year! 43 MINUTES!! It’s not an equal comparison.

no Wemby ain't no Lou Alcinder or Wilt Chamberlain but his presence remidns me on Wilt but he ain't everage 40-50 points so Wemby is maybe on his way but stats ain't lying

One elite player can carry a team to success. Not champions, but success. Wemby and the spurs were terrible, intentionally or not. That hurts his case for DPotY and his argument for the greatest rookie season. Other rookies had similar seasons and succeeded in the playoffs (though with obviously better teammates). Wemby has the physical gifts to be an all-time great and carry a team the way the great players of the past have, but he's still very young. Still, if he's healthy and the Spurs pick up some more talent to place around him, he'll probably end his career with a fair few DPotY trophies and possibly many other accolades as well.

You might as well give the dpoy trophy to Rudy’s teammates at this point.

If not the best, one of the best easily.

Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, NAW, Conley, Reid and Anderson have all played great defense this year helping Gobert. They are still a great defensive team without Gobert, and Wemby doesn’t have all that help 🤷🏽‍♂️