Kendrick Perkins, NBA analyst, hails “the new face of the NBA”
The San Antonio Spurs are genuine championship contenders with 22-year-old star Victor Wembanyama.
When Victor Wembanyama entered the 2023 NBA Draft many experts cited the young Frenchman as a generational talent, a player who could catapult a team into championship contention. Less than three years on, Wembanyama is already making good on those predictions.
On Tuesday Wembanyama helped the San Antonio Spurs to a 136-108 demolition of the Los Angeles Lakers, putting up 40 points and 12 rebounds in an all-action performance. The 22-year-old is at the forefront of a dynamic young Spurs team that is now second in the Western Conference. For Wemby, this may only be the start.
Speaking on ESPN this week, NBA star-turned analyst Kendrick Perkins was in no doubt about Wembanyama’s status in the league: “Victor Wembanyama is the new face of the NBA. And if anyone wants to argue with me, we can argue for hours but you’re going to lose this argument.”
“When you talk about a guy who’s embracing that role [as the face of the league] and embodying that, he checks that box. When you talk about a guy that’s going to perform at a high level and do things that we’ve never seen before, he’s going to do that. When you talk about a guy that’s going to put butts in seats... He does that.”
Now in his third season in the league, Wembanyama is already a two-time NBA All-Star. He led the league for blocks in each of the last two seasons and is now showing the scoring ability that made him one of the most exciting draft prospects of recent years. Playing alongside the likes of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper with the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama could well be one of the defining figures of the NBA for years to come.
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