Welcome to Wembanyama Wednesdays, our new recurring weekly post that will provide you with everything you need to know about Victor Wembanyama, the once-in-a-generation talent coming to an NBA team soon.
Victor Wembanyama is the best basketball prospect we’ve seen since LeBron James. Bol Bol is a former second-round pick. It’s apples and oranges.
But after a recent hot streak from Bol, in which his highlights looked like he was playing a totally different sport, it’s become in vogue to compare the two players. The latest to do as much is Paolo Banchero, who was just selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Banchero spoke to Michael Scotto about the comparisons (via HoopsHype):
“Everyone talks about the Victor dude from France,” Magic star Paolo Banchero told HoopsHype when asked who compares to Bol. “I’m not trying to compare them, but Bol’s 7-foot-2, shoots threes, brings it up the court, makes passes, and blocks shots. I feel like people kind of forget about him, but Bol’s a freak of nature.”
Banchero said he isn’t trying to compare the two players, and it’s sort of a fool’s errand to compare their numbers considering they play in drastically different leagues and they’re at different stages of their development.
But if everyone is making the comparisons, sure, let’s look at the numbers.
| NAME | HT/WS | WT | FG% | RIM% | 3P% | FT% | REB% | AST% | PPP | BLK% |
| Wemby | 7’4″ / 8’0″ | 229 lbs | 50.3% | 74.1% | 31.0% | 74.6% | 17.9% | 13.5% | 1.12 | 10.5% |
| Bol | 7’2″ / 7’8″ | 220 lbs | 60.1% | 81.6% | 41.9% | 76.7% | 16.7% | 5.5% | 1.11 | 6.9% |
(Note that all stats are pulled from RealGM and Synergy on Nov. 30, 2022)
Wembanyama has a much higher usage rate than Bol and he creates his own shot far more often in isolation and off the dribble.
But otherwise, keeping all of the factors at play in mind, the numbers do look fairly similar. Here are some of the tweets where others have made the same observation — although some may be facetious.
Bol Bol literally has the same skill set as Victor Wembanyama. pic.twitter.com/ml5SQTwdlv
— jose ☔️ (@KlayForTrey) November 20, 2022
What if Wembanyama is already here? https://t.co/eiOgxoAMS9
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) November 29, 2022
Victor Wembanyama is a poor man's Bol Bol. https://t.co/0KTdzDiPYk
— Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13) November 29, 2022
We already have a Victor Wembanyama in the NBA and his name is BOL BOL
— Matt (@sixringsofsteeI) November 29, 2022
Even though he was a second-round pick back in 2019, Bol was actually considered a higher-rated recruit than Zion Williamson.
Bol didn’t pan out for the Nuggets, unfortunately, but he has since had a career resurgence playing for the Magic.
Based on ESPN’s BPI, Orlando is projected to have a 37.1% chance of landing one of the first three picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. Teams that land within the top three then have a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick.
Later, we’ll get to some of the other teams who have aspirations of drafting Wembanyama. But until then, let’s daydream about Wembanyama joining the lengthiest team in the NBA playing alongside Bol, Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Mo Bamba.
Isn’t that fun?
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
The latest jaw-dropping highlight(s) from Wembanyama:
Unlike this absurd floating jump shot from 3-point range that he hit while playing for the French national team, there isn’t one highlight that stands out above the rest from Wembanyama’s recent on-court performances.
But ESPN’s Jonathan Givony cut together a few highlight packages, and it’s just so fun to watch Wembanyama play this sport:
Projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama drops 30 again in leading Metopolitans 92 to their eighth straight win, adding 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks. Leading the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks and has his team in 1st place. pic.twitter.com/z5WoMORxqZ
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) November 26, 2022
Victor Wembanyama helps Metropolitans 92 to a seventh consecutive win dropping 30 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks over his childhood team Nanterre. The projected No. 1 pick is leading the league in scoring and has his team in first place. pic.twitter.com/udnkx3CwaC
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) November 20, 2022
🤯 A 7+ footer with these kind of handles 🤯
Wemby is just unbelievable, watch him live now on the NBA App 📲 https://t.co/0fEZTG2apq pic.twitter.com/Exz2JJXxUT
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2022
GAME LOG / SCHEDULE
RECENT GAMES
Nov. 20 (vs. Nanterre 92)
30 pts (10-19 FG, 1-5 3P, 9-11 FT), 9 reb, 5 blk, 36 min
Nov. 26 (vs. Nancy Basket)
30 pts (9-19 FG, 1-4 3P, 11-16 FT), 15 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk, 33 min
UPCOMING GAME(S)
You can stream these games, for free, on the NBA’s global app
Dec. 2, 2:00 PM ET (vs. Fos Sur Mer)
BRICK FOR VIC
The three teams with the worst record will each have a 14.0 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. These are the most likely teams to land a top 3 pick (via FiveThirtyEight):
Detroit Pistons – 21 wins
Houston Rockets – 21 wins
Orlando Magic – 23 wins
San Antonio Spurs – 25 wins
Oklahoma City Thunder – 28 wins
Charlotte Hornets – 32 wins
New Orleans Pelicans (via LAL) – 32 wins
RECOMMENDED READING
The best stories that you can read about Wembanyama right now:
- Meet Tim Martin, the trainer behind Victor Wembanyama and his virtual training sessions, and defense-focused drills (via Krysten Peek, Yahoo! Sports)
“I would tell him to do something and it only takes one rep before he understands and gets it. It’s different with every player I work with, but with Victor it’s, ‘OK, do this or that,’ and he’ll just go in and perfect whatever I showed him five minutes prior, he won’t forget it. The next workout I’ll have him do something else, but it will stem from something we worked on two weeks ago and he’ll do that,” Martin said while shaking his head. “He’s always evolving with such ease and wants to get better every time he steps on the court. That’s what makes him great and what separates him from everyone else.”
- Here is the latest scouting report on Vic (via Sam Vecenie, The Athletic):
“Wembanyama is the best prospect to enter the draft since James. He was utterly dominant in front of over 200 NBA front office personnel in Las Vegas earlier this month in a head-to-head showing with the No. 2 prospect here, Scoot Henderson. I broke down the first of those games in detail, explaining what makes Wembanyama so special from a size and coordination perspective while intermixing elite-level skill. His upside is becoming the best player in the NBA, and it’s hard to say that about any draft prospect.”
