Victor Wembanyama Glad LeBron James Called Him an ‘Alien’

The likely No. 1 NBA draft pick loved hearing this from the basketball great.

NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama reacted to basketball great LeBron James calling him an “alien” in a Sports Illustrated profile posted Tuesday. 

The four-time NBA champion gave his thoughts on the 19-year-old French player, who will likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft and a future force in the league. 

”We’re labeling like this unicorn thing—everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years,” James said. “But he’s more like an alien—no one has seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor.”

Wembanyama, who is 7’3” with an eight-foot wingspan, loved James’s words and ran with the extraterrestrial comparison.

“First of all, I’m really glad he said that because I didn’t like to be called a unicorn,” Wembanyama said. “I like it because it’s just something not from this world. I like being called an alien, yeah. It’s really what I’m working to be—something unique and original.”

You can watch the whole video here: