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The hottest NBA draft prospect since LeBron James is taller than Shaquille O\u2019Neal and still growing.<\/p>\n
French teenager Victor Wembanyama is seen as the best young player in a generation and is all but certain to be selected with the No. 1 pick in this year\u2019s NBA Draft.<\/p>\n
Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now ><\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n The 19-year-old is playing for Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 in France\u2019s Pro A League, and turned heads in an exhibition game<\/a> in October against expected No. 2 pick Scoot Henderson\u2019s G League Ignite.<\/p>\n ‘UNGUARDABLE’ ‘ Wenbenyama shines in US | 01:14<\/p>\n With his lanky physique, Wembanyama has been described as a taller version of Kevin Durant who can block shots for fun.<\/p>\n He officially stands 7\u20194\u201d (224 cm) tall but according to ESPN<\/a>, Wembanyama is now 7\u20195\u201d (226cm) with shoes on, with a wingspan of eight feet (243cm) – and the scariest part is he\u2019s still growing. <\/p>\n That makes Wembanyama taller than Durant (208cm) and Lakers legend O\u2019Neal (216m), who dominated the NBA in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n And if Wembanyama was to join the NBA today, he would immediately become the league\u2019s tallest player, ahead of the likes of Houston\u2019s Boban Marjanovic (224cm), Washington\u2019s Kristaps Porzingis (221cm) and Boston\u2019s Luke Kornet (218cm).<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst believes Wembanyama\u2019s height and athleticism will make him an unstoppable force once he joins the NBA in his rookie season.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a different prospect to what we\u2019ve ever seen before, especially coming out of Europe. His shooting form is textbook,\u201d he said on the \u2018Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective\u2019<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cThis guy is so serious about being great. I don\u2019t know if will be. There\u2019s no such thing as a \u2018can\u2019t miss\u2019 prospect, but he is doing everything in his power to be great from day one. I think from day one in the NBA, he will be a dominating defensive force. He will alter shots like nobody we\u2019ve ever seen before. From day one, teams will have to game plan for dealing with him defensively. <\/p>\n \u201cWenbamyama isn\u2019t even like LeBron 2.0. It\u2019s like LeBron 3.0. It\u2019s a completely different situation. You\u2019re going to be alarmed at how thin he is. He\u2019s listed at 230 pounds (104kg), he is 7-foot-4-ish, 7-foot-5. He looks very slight. He doesn\u2019t look he has much bulk. He looks like he could get knocked over by a stiff breeze.\u201d<\/p>\n LeBron James has described Wembanyama as a \u201cgenerational talent\u201d and an \u201calien\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re labelling him like this unicorn thing,\u201d James told reporters in a press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he\u2019s more like an alien<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen \u2013 no one has ever seen \u2013 anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor. He\u2019s a generational talent and hopefully he continues to stay healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n Sports Illustrated posted a profile on Wembanyama on Tuesday in which he admitted he liked the \u2018alien\u2019 label.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really glad he said that because I didn\u2019t like to be called a unicorn,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI like being called an alien, it\u2019s just something not from this world. It\u2019s really what I\u2019m working to be \u2014 something unique and original.\u201d<\/p>\n James knows first-hand what Wembanyama is going through as the far as the hype surrounding him before every playing an NBA game. The league\u2019s all-time leading scorer was a can\u2019t-miss prospect coming out of high school before being selected No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers in 2003.<\/p>\n Wembanyama has also drawn high praise from Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way his skills are, the way he could shoot the ball, the way he can move, he\u2019s extremely fast for his size, can block shots, can be a threat on the offensive end, he\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d the Greek Freak said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have never seen something like that before. I think it\u2019s a good challenge for everybody around the league, to have somebody that\u2019s 7\u20192\u201d be able to shoot, dribble like he\u2019s a guard, to block shots, to run down the door fast. We got to get ready for this kid. He\u2019s going to be really good.\u201d<\/p>\n Wembanyama is averaging 22.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks a game this season in the LNB Pro A league \u2014 France\u2019s top pro league. He is widely considered to be a player with groundbreaking talent that can instantly elevate whichever team he lands with.<\/p>\n The Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets appear best placed to land Wembanyama if they land the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery.<\/p>\n Those four teams all have less than 20 wins with a quarter of the NBA season remaining.<\/p>\n Sections of this story originally appeared on the NY Post <\/a>and is reproduced with permission.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n