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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Charlie Wilson

LeBron James details the two things that make Victor Wembanyama an 'alien'

LeBron James has named NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama as an 'alien' as he was full of praise for the French teenager after an impressive showing for in Las Vegas. Wembanyama cemented his status as the number one prospect ahead of next year's NBA draft with another strong performance for Metropolitans 92.

At 7'4, Wembanyama has been on NBA scouts radar for years, and he'll finally be available for NBA teams next year, and he showed exactly why each team will be desperate to acquire him.

His French side, Metropolitans 92, travelled to Vegas to face NBA G League Ignite, which featured other highly-recruited prospect Scoot Henderson, as well as Shaquille O'Neal's son, Shareef O'Neal.

Wembanyama dominated in the game, posting 37 points, scoring seven three-pointers and adding five blocks on the defensive end. As he looked like the best player on the court, at the age of just 18.

His combination of size, speed and athleticism has yet to be seen, even in the NBA, and with the whole league talking about the young Frenchman, Los Angeles Lakers superstar James was asked what he thought of 'Wemby'.

James said: "What do I think of him? I feel like I think the same as everybody else think, there's been a thing of labelling certain players as a 'unicorn'. I feel like he's more like an alien.

"No-one has ever seen anyone as tall and fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor. His ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot step-back jumpers out the post, step-back three's, catch and shoot three's, block shots...

"He is for sure a generational talent, and hopefully he continues to stays healthy - that is the most important thing. He's a big time player."

Metropolitans 92 would lose the game by seven points, with Henderson, who is now expected to be the second overall pick, also performing well.

But it's Wenbanyama who will be the guy who struggling teams will certainly target next June - with teams such as the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons all expected to be part of a 'tank' - with the team with the worst record being given the highest chance to be awarded with the number one overall pick.

It will arguably be the most highly-anticipated draft since 2003, when a certain LeBron James entered the draft, alongside fellow NBA legends Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh.

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