(Los Angeles) Victor Wembanyama will face the “King” of basketball LeBron James for the first time in his career, Wednesday then Friday in San Antonio, for an NBA duel awaited since the Lakers star praised the young Frenchman .
The two meetings promise to be unbalanced: the San Antonio Spurs remain on a record series for the franchise of 17 consecutive defeats after their setback in Houston on Monday, while the Los Angeles Lakers have just won the brand new Cup on Saturday in Las Vegas NBA.
The young Texans can only hope that the “old guys” of the Lakers are a little dulled by their match on Tuesday in Dallas, or celebrated their new trophy a little too much in the city of the game.
The two meetings mark a first on a court between the NBA’s biggest star, LeBron James, still at the top for his 21st season at almost 39 years old (December 30), and the young Victor Wembanyama (19 years old), prodigy with unique agility for his size (2.24 m) announced as one of the future bosses of world basketball.
Drafted number 1 by Spurs in June, Wembanyama is the most anticipated recruit since James arrived in the league in 2003, when the Frenchman was not born.
“LeBron is an idol, someone I watched all the time on TV as a kid, that makes this meeting even more special,” Wembanyama explained Monday. “He’s someone who must have a lot of good advice to give, immense knowledge, experience, he’s someone I can learn from for sure. »
James, had contributed to the madness which surrounded the Frenchman’s arrival in the United States by calling him an “alien” at the end of 2022.
“We’ve never seen someone of his size so fluid and graceful on the pitch. His dribbling, his shooting, up close, from afar, his speed of execution, his counterattacks… It’s the talent of a generation, that’s for sure,” he added.
After 21 games in the NBA since his debut at the end of October, “Wemby”, a strong winger or pivot, averages 18.8 points per game, 10.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.8 blocks, the latter statistic the placing at the top of the NBA records.
After his first 21 games in 2003, James, a winger, averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 0.6 blocks, and won only 5 games (3 for Wembanyama).
A common point is that both players landed in a team that finished last in the previous season.
James won the rookie of the year title in 2004. Wembanyama has so far been beaten by Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City) for the first rookie of the month award in November.
