Just how good is Victor Wembanyama?
Good enough that, a scant two seasons into his career, the versatile Frenchman might already have a pretty good shot at hoops immortality.
Ahead of his third NBA season, the All-Star San Antonio Spurs center has earned a wild new prediction from a league insider.
ESPN’s Zach Kram submits that the 7-foot-3 big man is already en route becoming a future Hall of Famer.
Greg Fiume/Getty Images
Making the Hall of Fame Case for Victor Wembanyama
Although he’s only essentially suited up for one-and-a-half seasons in the league thus far (he missed most of 2024-25’s second half with a blood clot) — and has yet to make the playoffs — Kram ranks the 21-year-old along with a pair of five-time All-NBA honorees, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, plus two-time All-NBA Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards, in a speical tier of players “well on their way” to Springfield.
It’s a bold, optimistic take, but such is the early upside of Wembanyama’s talent.
“And it might seem presumptive to include Wembanyama in this group, as he has played only 117 career games,” Kram writes. “But health permitting, presumably every NBA player, executive and fan would envision Wembanyama as a future Hall of Famer due to his expansive skill set at such a young age.”
More news: Bombshell Kawhi Leonard Report Causes Old Clippers Tweet to Resurface
In just 46 healthy games last year, Wembanyama averaged 24.3 points on .476/.352/.836 shooting splits, 11.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals. With Wembanyama and All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox ailing down the season’s home stretch, San Antonio embraced the tank, finishing with a 34-48 record and stumbling into the No. 2 pick in June’s 2025 NBA Draft.
San Antonio selected former All-Big East Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with that selection. The 6-foot-6 incoming pro has sadly already gotten hurt ahead of the season, but is expected to return around the Spurs’ season opener, Oct. 22 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Still, plenty of players have had fast starts to their careers only to be waylaid by health issues or bizarre regressions.
Former Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose was a league MVP by his third season. Following ACL and meniscus tears across the subsequent few years, he never recovered his All-NBA form. Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons was a three-time All-Star, one-time All-NBA honoree, and two-time Defensive Teamer by the time he was 24. He has never come close to sniffing another NBA accolade, and is reportedly pondering retirement at the ripe old age of 29.
It’s too soon to anoint Wembanyama as a Hall of Famer, let alone to rope him in with Tatum — who’s already won a title — and Doncic — who’s already appeared in an NBA Finals, losing to Tatum — as being a near-lock.
More news: Spurs Star Suffers Injury, Undergoes Surgery in Unfortunate Update
For all the latest NBA news and rumors, head over to Newsweek Sports.
