It was maybe the biggest preseason game ever, and it didn’t even feature an NBA team.
When G League Ignite and France’s Metropolitan 92 met in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, the, spotlight shown on two talents who each in their own way represent the future of the League.
Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson are the top two players of the 2023 draft class, and are firmly expected to be taken #1 and #2 come next June’s draft. Both of these great talents showed out in the exhibition and demonstrated why exactly there was so much hype around this preseason friendly.
Wembanyama is a 7’4” power forward who plays the game unlike anyone in the history of basketball. It’s inconceivable that a person so tall could be so smooth on the court, but Wembanyama suffers from none of the gawky awkwardness that other prospects his size struggle with. Victor’s handle is tight, and his step-back is explosive: he creates the type of separation with the ball that only guards do. For a 7 footer to be able create his own shot on the perimeter is insanely valuable, and Victor’s shot too is wet: against G-League Ignite he went 7-11 from downtown for a total of 37 points.
Still, as a power forward one imagines that many of Victor’s buckets will come at the hoop, and here was the one area that the lanky frenchman could improve: his touch at the rim isn’t as precise as it could be, and often while facing up opponents in the low post he attempted to go through them rather than using his height advantage to go up and over.
Wembanyama’s strength has been noted as a small mark against him, and it was evident against a G-League Ignite squad that has the size and strength of an NBA team if not the polish and talent. As of now Victor isn’t crafty enough to consistently get himself open looks at the rim, and instead relies on his impressive jump-shot, but if he wants to succeed at the next level than he will have to work on his footwork. At only 18 years of age, there’s plenty of room for Victor to improve, and his immense talent is evident from everywhere on the court, but especially on defense, where he is an absolute menace in the paint.
The way he reaches out and blocks shots reminds me of a frog snatching bugs out of the air with its tongue: completely explosive and instantaneous extension. His insane length warps the space around him and makes it supremely difficult for even a highly skilled guard like Scoot Henderson to finish at the rim.
Scoot for his part did not disappoint either, and the point guard finished with an impressive 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists, carrying his team to victory over the French squad.
Henderson is marketed as a compete product, and he showed out on every level of the game: he hit shots from outside; he drove to the basket; he distributed the ball and made countless great passes and got his teammates involved. His basketball IQ is evident, but more than that Scoot seems to have that X factor of always picking the right spots on the court to move himself; he impacts the game simply through the way he moves. He’s an orchestra-conductor archetype a la Chris Paul, and I think CP3 is a good comp for the 6’2” Henderson, who has plenty of explosiveness too and can run and dunk with the best of them, but is above all poised, and always looks to make the right decision on the court.
Victor got frustrated early on and forced up some bad shots, but when he calmed down and simply played his game his overwhelming talent was easy to see.
Both prospects played hard: Victor dove for a steal and loose ball halfway through the first quarter, and Scoot locked down the perimeter on defense when it mattered in the fourth.
Injury concerns of course hang over Wembanyama: his sheer size makes it unavoidable, and I’m sure NBA scouts winced every time Victor over-committed to blocking a shot, or landed hard in traffic after a rebound, but for the most part Victor moves gracefully, and one gets the sense that he knows his body well and doesn’t take unnecessary risks.
For a preseason exhibition game with nothing tangible at stake, this game was a great product, and the NBA world should be on notice for these two great young players who come next season will be looking to take the League by storm. If this game was anything to go by, they both have a good shot.
Comments