Boston Celtics reporter Jay King of The Athletic had a brutal putdown of the 2023 NBA draft’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, during the San Antonio Spurs rookie’s Summer League debut against the Charlotte Hornets — saying the seven-foot-four Frenchman’s skillset was closer to Rudy Gobert’s than LeBron James’ or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s.
They compared Wembanyama to Kareem and LeBron but really he's just Rudy Gobert with a green light.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) July 8, 2023
Wembanyama finished 1/7 from the field overall and 0/3 from the 3-point line. Despite the poor shooting in his first two quarters under the NBA umbrella, Wembanyama still finished with five points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
He also got posterized by Kai Jones in what will undoubtedly be the highlight of the 2023 Summer League:
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1677506211791400963
The Boston Celtics were luckily last in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes
If you think about it, the Boston Celtics had the worst odds of any team in the NBA to land Wembanyama during the 2023 draft since the Cs entered the 2022-23 season as the odds-on favorites to win the championship and entered the playoffs in the same position. Even now, with Wembanyama in the league and the Celtics getting a proven unicorn in Kristaps Poringis, Boston has the best odds to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The Celtics never had a chance at Wembanyama; meaning that there was never a chance any Cs fan would fall for a hype that doesn’t look close to being fulfilled at this point.
Of course, there’s a chance that we’ll all be looking back at this exhibition debut and laughing at the overreaction from social media if Wembanyama develops under Gregg Popovich. Until that happens, though, Wembanyama’s PR has been nightmarish after unprecedented coverage of his LNB Pro A season with Metropolitans 92.
You simply can’t brick several shots in your first public appearance in the jersey of the team that drafted you and have your head of security be involved in a scuffle with a pop icon — though it should be noted the aforementioned pop icon actually hit herself and wasn’t struck by anyone else — and follow it up by getting dunked on and struggling from the field in your debut.
Or you can, but your next move better be a good one.