NBA – “People thought I was crazy, but he did the same things as Wembanyama”

Since his arrival in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama has found himself in comparisons of all kinds, particularly in relation to his physique and his range as a player.

A veteran thinks that a current star had the same profile as the Frenchman.

Everyone characterizes him as unique – except perhaps Shaquille O’Neal, there is not a day that goes by when he is not the subject of some comparison.

Victor Wembanyama’s daily life boils down to seeing himself put in parallel with his counterparts or his predecessors in the NBA. A completely usual phenomenon for a prospect like him, but quite paradoxical concerning him.

After all, the NBA has never seen a 2m24 player move, dribble, shoot, defend or even think like the young French interior.

Some, however, were able to display similar size and qualities, like a Hall of Famer at the time perceived as the future Wilt Chamberlain. Enough to keep this conversation going and allow sometimes eccentric opinions to see the light of day.

A precursor to Wembanyama… teammate of Rudy Gobert?

In the past, Wembanyama has often been compared to Rudy Gobert as a tall, lean French defender.

A comparison which gradually disappeared, while Victor notably developed an outside shot that his elder brother does not possess. However, for Jeff Teague, another Wolves player deserved to be put on equal footing with Wemby, namely… Karl-Anthony Towns.

He states in Run It Back:

I don’t know why people disrespect KAT when he is one of the best players in the league.

I think it’s because he changes his voice in interviews! No, more seriously, he’s really hot.

People thought I was crazy, but he was doing the same things Wemby was doing when I first met him. He’s not as tall but in terms of skillset, he was the same.

He also arrived in the NBA as a 1st pick, Towns was however not surrounded by the same hype as Wembanyama.

It must be said that his 2m13 is much more common within the league.

For the rest, he indeed presented a profile somewhat comparable to the Spurs prodigy.

Holder of a very developed offensive arsenal for his age, he also proved dissuasive with an average of 2.3 blocks in the NCAA.

That being said, KAT has gradually abandoned its reputation as a big blocker over the years. And especially last season, which can be explained by the presence of Gobert at his side in the Minnesota racket. However, Jeff Teague does not forget the extent of the talent of his former teammate, who according to him deserves much more respect from fans and observers.

For Jeff Teague, Karl-Anthony Towns displayed qualities equivalent to those of Victor Wembanyama during his first years in the league. Not sure, however, that the Frenchman would be satisfied with a start to his career worthy of that of KAT.