Bill Simmons Is All In on Victor Wembanyama | The Bill Simmons Podcast

I don't know how we're going to end up calling Victor Wampanyama. I wrote some nicknames ironically. I called him an alien in a tweet on Tuesday. LeBron, they interviewed him last night after the Las Vegas game and LeBron said that the blind people compared him to an alien and the reason he did it was because this guy is an alien, we've never seen anything like this, he's 7-4, he He feels like he's taller than 7-4, he looks like seven five, he moves in a way that's so unusual for a tall guy. Tall guys always look a little awkward or a little stiff or have the homegrown thing where their back is raised a little bit just something so this guy moves like he's six and five I don't get it, I don't get it I don't get it we'll go into all the things on the checklist, but for nicknames, we just call him Victor, quiet alien or the alien.

I like the alien, I could call him Predator, too calm, UFO, calm, VD, the Extraterrestrial, no. It doesn't really matter the point is that we haven't had someone like that delaying a season versus a draft versus a lottery in a long time. I'm going to do a couple of things here that we're going to talk about. the best center prospects of all time first the best center prospect of all time was Will Chamberlain Will Chamberlain didn't really belong in college, they had all these rules back then where you had to stay four years, he stayed I think three at Kansas and later played for the Globetrotters. he didn't enter the league until he was 23 years old.

He could have come in at 19 and it would have been amazing, so he has to start with Will and then Kareem right behind him. Kareem was 22 years old when he entered the league he was in. UCLA for four years, the first year he didn't even get to play as a freshman and it was absolutely clear that he would have been one of the top seven players in the NBA his last two years at UCLA, so he came in and now he's one of the three greatest players of all time those two stand out now both were before my time.

I was there for Patrick Ewing. He actually lived in Boston with my dad when he was at Cambridge Virgin Latin and everyone thought he was Bill Russell. When I went to Georgetown for BC people were furious, including myself. I still like BC at that point in his first year at Georgetown, don't look at the stats, he was like 13 and eight with like three blocks a game, there's never been anyone like that on defense. from Russell on a college basketball court and I would say sophomore Ewing, um or maybe the one in those first two years it was clear, it was like what's the ceiling for this guy, this guy is going to be a top 15 player.

Once his knees were placed on him. I think there's almost two Ewings, there's like the '80s Ewing and then when we get to the '90s, when his knees buckle, he has those big knee pads on, right? Same guy, but he's the best center prospect I've ever seen. Bill Walton, a lot of people would include him. He obviously dominated it at UCLA and I revered that guy. He had it in the top 35 in my book. he had a couple seasons in the NBA, he's everything you would want from a center. I was there for Hakeem and Ralph Sampson and Hakeem was just a ball of athleticism that you didn't even know what he was, you knew it was something you didn't know.

I knew if he was going to put it together but athletically we had not seen a center like that it was not even clear if he was the center he was just a six six ten I don't know what and then as he developed the footwork like an as an NBA player, I'm serious, it actually turned out even better than you thought to put Hakeem in perspective, he went first in the '84 draft, MJ went third, no one is complaining about this. Hakeem was the right choice even though MJ was third, MJ should have done it.

Samson was the second and Samson, as a high school player and a freshman, had the same kind of enthusiasm that I think we'll get from Wembanyama. There was a big Sports Illustrated cover where it said: Hello. m Ralph Sampson I'm a high school player or whatever, I don't remember, but it was like this iconic high school cover, uh, SI cover, and he goes to Virginia, immediately it's good, the Celtics are trying to hire him because they have the first one. 1981 draft pick uh red R back is trying to convince them to get out and ends up staying in Virginia red R back's Furious, they end up trading the pick for Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, not a bad trade and Samson stays all four years . in college and it's a big mistake because he only plays a couple of really good years to get the Rockets to the finals in 86.

He gets hurt, but he has to be in the conversation, so there's probably a slight drop toward Anthony Davis and Odin , so I really have Sixth Grade Center prospects, Kareem Ewing Walton Hakeem Sampson and with wimpanyama the question is is he the best kid since Kareem and I really think he is. I watch both games. I look at them carefully. I made a little checklist for wow factor. 10 just a 10. I just can't even believe what was going on with uh even the shots he was missing, he's missing them like these Kevin Durant fans and the fact that he's going up the alley, he has to keep his head down. because he's going to hit the rim.

I've been watching basketball my whole life. I had never seen anything like it. Not even Samson was like that. I'm going to call this the kg factor, so kg was a tall guy. kg was secretly 7.-1 but he carried himself like a 6'5 guy, you never felt like he was a tall guy, he moved like a swingman, he moved like a six five guy and when you think about big centers they all look they move as centers. This was what always scared me about Greg Odin. I didn't like watching him run, did I? He looked like a big body that didn't quite belong on a basketball court, he moves the same way Giannis does and some of For these tall guys, height almost doesn't matter, but it does matter because he's seven foot five and the fluidity of the way he moves at his age is as unusual as thinking about him compared to Hashem to beat some of these other greats we've seen.

His fluency is like 100 out of 100. I don't understand it. I don't know where he came from. He may be an alien. Competitiveness and activity. They surprised me a lot. like he's going for loose balls, he's challenging everything his team was falling behind, he'd get angry, he'd start shooting, he's got a nasty side, um, I got Mean Streak like a 10 too and competitive acting I got like a 10 too scoot was the same way we'll talk about scoot in a second, but scoot is like an alpha, you know, aggressive guy and I think that's a quality you have to have if you want to be cool, so webadiama has that. the shot blocking 10 out of 10 is too low.

He's like a 13 out of 10. It's not just the shots he was blocking, he's just there and he's changing every decision everyone makes, every floater, everyone near the basket, every time you get a pass, right? do you think? You go to make a layup, but you say: Where is he? Where is the? The factor with him is a hundred out of 10. Passing pretty well. You know, it's not Bill Walton, but I thought he tried to be creative. Definitely. it's there, the rebound I think was really good, I think we'll even improve and then the shot that I have like nine and a half showed a variety of crazy things, there was one in the first game where he got the The ball on the left block spun like was out of bounds, then he turned toward the guy and then he fell back and did a little one-handed shot off the backboard and it was like a Mikhail Hakeem thing. and I mean, if he starts doing that, Jesus, he also has a 28-foot reach, which Trisha mentioned.

The reason I have it is nine and a half and not ten. I didn't really see a hook to jump with him and I. I was thinking like he developed a sky hook because this was what made Kareem so special. He was also seven foot four. Kareem was also smooth like this guy. He was just an incredible athlete, he never got hurt more than when he broke down. hand when he hit Camp Benson who deserved it if he gets a sky hook or something like a sky hook where he can reach as high as possible and do the arm and wrist movement no one is blocking him so I think That's what's so alarming what we saw in those two games, it's like this is the worst thing this guy could be, so when we put this into perspective, you know, the best perspectives I've ever had in my life.

In the last 30 years, this was the list that I made O3 LeBron in high school he had everything like there was no doubt that this was something different and special and unique and he had size the way he looked at his teammates the explosiveness the athleticism the selflessness was really what was magical about him and it seemed like there was a crossover magic with LeBron, the possibility of being with him even in high school and, um, it was unforgettable. I think Zion at Duke for me, where just athletically the wow factor with him, like a benyama, was a 10. he second Durant in 07 um.

I was the leader of the Durant train. I was going crazy for him all season long. I had it in excess in that draft. I thought, "I bet my life this guy is going to be one of the great scorers we have." I've had in the league how could I bet this, obviously you can't. I have those three. I have Duncan at 97. I have Shack at 92. and I have C-web at 93. And those are the top six prospects. I've ever seen him have wimpanyama, I think ahead of LeBron, like, oh my God, what is this? I don't see any way he wouldn't be an incredible player unless he gets hurt, but the same could be said for any player, I mean. and maybe that's part of the magic with LeBron was that his size, you would think, that guy has a chance to be as durable as anyone, the armor, there's just no way he's not one of the best players in the game. league.

It is impossible for him to have to be hurt by what we have seen at the age he is, when he is 18 years old. So he really would be going into his first year of college if he were American, the things he's doing are way ahead of the curve and I was thinking of just under 20 people I've seen in my life. I mentioned freshman Patrick Ewing 07 Durant C Webb, who I think he falls short on these things because people remember the NBA career and his NBA career was good. but also a little disappointing, I thought it was an NBA thing, I think a little higher than most, but in Michigan's two years, that's the best power forward Prospect I've ever seen, he's still the best forward- Prospect center I have ever seen in my life, passing athletics. the rebounds, he, he was a tough guy, the timeout really changed.

I think we talked a little about his career in the basketball book, but the best power forward prospect I've ever seen. Durant was the best shooting prospect I have ever seen. I've seen Ewing was the best center prospect I've ever seen and LeBron was the best, what the heck is this swing prospect I've ever seen and I want to throw Samson in there too because Samson looked like an evolutionary Kareem when it was happening. especially those first few years at Virginia, where it was like I really wanted to be on the perimeter, I wanted to be like, you know, run the offense from 25 feet away, I wanted to make jumpers and it took a lot to do that, I would do a lot more.

It makes sense with the way basketball was played now, but really those are the five freshmen, Ewing 07 Durant 93c web and the freshmen, I guess that's far away and then when biyama would have five, there were others guys who jumped, but they were older like Bird, Magic and MJ. but those guys had been in college for a couple of years for him to be where he is right now, it's just crazy to me and I totally agree, I don't know, I like it, the stock is probably probably like Apple five ago years. I don't mind buying all the stock, it's the highest stock we've probably ever had for an under 20 year old.

I don't care, I'm totally in if it was Utah, if it was San Antonio, if it was Charlotte, if it was Indiana um, if I was any team that started slow and didn't expect to, you know, not have as good a season as maybe Like Washington, I don't know, I'm all in, they took me away. I'm starting with Julie, guys. I'm making it weird. I can think of false reasons. The boys are not playing like Covid. Oh, they lusted after him again. Yes, try them and change the greed tests. Whatever I have to do, then KOC asked me where and when.

Benyamo would be on the list of trade values ​​right now and I looked at the list I left in the summer, which was Giannis was number one, then Luca, then Jokic and then Steph ja embiid Tatum Edwards Mobley Milwaukee is not trading in his Dallas es trading Luca for him Denver isn't trading the Joker way, so cross out those three from Golden State. You're having a seven-hour meeting, and actually it could be a two-day meeting, you could sleep in the office so you can have more meetings. the next day and they will finally decide that we cannot exchange personnel, he is an absolute hero, he is an icon, he is the reason we can build this Arena, unfortunately we are going to pass, but it will be two days. meet guys will have Boin the office, um, there will be leftover Chinese food everywhere, a guy yelling, this is crazy, this guy is the future of basketball, but I think that keeps Steph apart from everyone trading their guy for women.

Yama ja and bead Tatum Edwards Mobley start packing, so I think he would be fifth on the trade value list even though he plays in France and is a year away from being in the league. I can't miss it either. I was thinking about can'. I don't miss the swing guy like guards like him, you could say that he unfortunately got hurt in the second game, but in the first game, the aggressive quality of his game is really jarring, as if guards shouldn't behave like that. He's very John morantish, but he feels like he's a little bigger than his jaw. showed every imaginable piece of an offensive game he could shoot he could drive to the basket he's a very good passer so you know Luca I was on Luca that whole year Derrick Rose Memphis Derrick Rose I think he was probably a little higher in than others, but athletically They clearly belonged and then Iverson in '96.

I would say it would be all three. I don't count Zion because he was more of a power forward than a swing guard guy, but you know, whenever these guys come in, there's always a couple things you can poke holes in, like even Paul Pierce, who was a very good college player, but he felt like a 10 and it's like he was too slow. What is this? Ray Allen was another winner that Rayon was. I can't miss it, this guy is going to come into the league and average 20 points a game, but it was like he could create his own shot.

He will have the ball a lot and he will be incredible and the great great great. The best thing about this draft, which has only happened a couple of times in history, is that before this season started, we know who the characters are. I went back and tried to find out when was the last time this happened. In 2014, we had Wiggins and Jabari. We tried to make that a thing, none of those guys were really up for it, but I went to the Showcase game before the year when there was a big buzz and Bead was there, so we had it that year.

Durant Odin, we had him the most famous Odin. he was getting all the hype and then Durant just kicked ass in Texas and I saw him in Texas. I think the last time I really loved college basketball I watched as many Texas games as possible, they were playing them at the Center, he was so good and I will never forgive Rick Barnes Rick Barnes, you know what you did, you sucked. 1997 there was a Duncan Keith Van Horn thing that developed in the air to the point where people were wondering if Keith Van Hornby should be the first pick, which was really good. litmus test to find out if you are or not the answer was no, you shouldn't Shaq's warning was the thing in '93, especially as the year went on, the morning felt like I was in college for eight years, I think That was part of the problem. but I think people knew Shaq was one, but that morning he was a big consolation prize.

Hakeem and MJ don't need to revisit that magical bird that was built over the course of the year. The difference was that the Celtics already had a bird because they chose. They had a strange loophole last year, but that was built, it was built in an amazing way, this is different because when Benyama is not going to be in college and Scoot Scoot is not going to be in the G League either, a half is France and this epitomizes what the league is now correct about, you have the modern Bird Magic version of a draft battle, only one player is in the G league and the other is playing overseas so I hope none of them come out hurt, but I think this has a chance to get better. be the best one-two new drafts in spirit of magic like we were really going to go through shacket the warning was also very good Hakeem and MJ they were also not one that MJ should have come second but this is going to be something we go Let's talk a lot, let's talk about weird broadcasts watching him beat up this guy on his French team, um, seeing if he can develop some kind of Skyhook jump book over the course of the year.

I think Scoot will make the G-League a different type of property this year if it's as exciting as what we saw Tuesday night, if he just does that on TV this will be the first type the G-leaks will have and people will really be excited to see it and then mention the tank, but the tank will get to the point where in February we will have to start talking about how we change the rules, what we do, what we have created, uh, I don't care at all. From this right now, all I know is that the league is as deep and great as it's ever been and we're adding at least these two guys who have a chance to be first team all-NBA guys for several years and then in In Binyama's case, he really has a chance to be one of the great centers of all time.

This could be in the category of Korean players. That's not hyperbole. I guess his nickname will be the alien, maybe UFO. Don't know. I know we'll figure it out, but something happened this week. I wish I had gone. It was very special to see and I'm excited. Everyone loves basketball, so there you have it.