Victor Wembanyama is a generational talent, a towering presence and insanely mobile big man who moves like a guard and dominates on both ends. Winning last year’s Rookie of the Year was exactly what you’d expect from someone so talented and unique.
Wembanyama’s next step is to prove he can build on his rookie season and perhaps even get his team to the playoffs, whether it’s this upcoming season or the year after. Either way, he remains one of the most exciting players in the NBA, and the conversation around him isn’t going away anytime soon.
As the buzz around Wembanyama persists, a recent comment from former Houston Rockets great Ralph Sampson has raised some eyebrows. Although Sampson acknowledged Wembanyama’s skills, he took a jab at the competition, saying the French talent is playing against ‘little people’ in this era.
Per azcentral:
“Victor Wembanyama’s a different player at a different time of basketball. He’s got great skills. He’s got great work ethic with what you can tell, but he don’t have to play the post, and if he did it’d be a different ball game. But there’s not big guys who can play against him. He’s playing against little people, so the game is totally different. We had to play against guys here like Terry Cummings, A.C. Green, Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Artis Gilmore, you got real men that will beat your a– in the post.”
Sampson is right in that Wembanyama doesn’t spend as much time in the paint in today’s NBA. However, this is largely due to the evolution of the game. Big men now have the ability to stretch the floor and showcase some guard-like skills. The game is also faster and hyper-efficient, making post plays less of a focal point in today’s game.
Meanwhile, the notion that Wembanyama is playing against ‘little people’ doesn’t exactly hold up. Today’s NBA features two MVP centers in Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, who are carrying the torch for big men in the league. You also have four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert, and guys like Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis, who can take over on offense and play DPOY-caliber defense.
The next tier of centers isn’t lacking in talent either, with Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Jarrett Allen, and Kristaps Porzingis filling it out. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaren Jackson Jr. also fit in if you view them as centers. Then there’s Chet Holmgren and Alperen Sengun, both showing signs that they could be the future of the position. This era may not be the golden age of big men, but Wembanyama’s competition is very much alive and well.
