Inside The Spurs

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is 'Gen Z's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,' Says Analyst

When Victor Wembanyama officially begins his career with the Spurs, he will immediately look to show the NBA world why he could be the next all-time-great center.

Matt Guzman

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is 'Gen Z's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,' Says Analyst
Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is 'Gen Z's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,' Says Analyst /
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With the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs are set to select Victor Wembanyama, a 7-4 center from Metropolitans 92 in France. 

The 19-year-old, who's NBA career has not yet begun, will follow in the footsteps of some of the Spurs' all-time greats — both in nationality and position — using his unique frame to help the Spurs back up the Western Conference ladder. 

That same frame and build is a big part of what's made him so special and sought after by teams across the league, though it seems that the Spurs have found a player who wanted to land in San Antonio as much as they wanted him to, which is a big positive.

"[Victor is] the NBA’s greatest prospect in decades with the ceiling to be an all-time great, and unlike anyone the game has seen before," The Ringer wrote of Wembanyama. "[He] is something that we cannot comprehend."

Sure, standing at 7-3 — or 7-5 with shoes — is neither heard of, nor comprehendible. Then again, dunking your own missed 3-pointer is unheard of. Basically, just about everything about Wembanyama is simply unheard of. 

But the NBA may have seen someone like him before. 

"[Wembanyama shows] shades of a Gen-Z Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," The Ringer wrote.

In his heyday, Abdul-Jabbar won five titles and three MVP awards with the Los Angeles Lakers, though his status as the greatest-of-all-time isn't heavily considered with the era-barrier that exists between current NBA fans and the 80s time period that he dominated. 

Either way, he made his presence felt on the court, becoming the NBA's leading scorer in 1984 with his famous "skyhook" and towering height. He finally handed over the record to LeBron James this season, but he didn't hand over his legacy. 

And if Wembanyama has a career similar to Abdul-Jabbar's, his hype will certainly be warranted and San Antonio will be seeing another round of center greatness. 

Standing at 7-2, Abdul-Jabbar's had a similar frame to Wembanyama, though the French phenom does have a slight height and weight advantage over Kareem. 

Where the Lakers legend lacked in weight, however, he made up for with his height, which allowed him to create enough space to go up cleanly with one arm over defenders. 

So, what makes the two comparable? 

Wembanyama will not be playing as a traditional center the way that Abdul-Jabbar did, and being slightly heavier, he won't need to adjust in the same way, but he will have to make changes to his game according to the modern play-style of current defenders, like Kareem did. 

Victor has height, but won't be able to body down bigger rim-protectors, meaning he'll need to find other ways to score.

Abdul-Jabbar mastered his skyhook, nailing it a majority of the time he went up with it. Suns All-Star Kevin Durant has a 57.1 percent mid-range shot in the same way that James' fadeaway seems almost automatic after a post back-down.  

Wembanyama's shot could come from behind the arc, as he has proved his ability to shoot from deep, though he'll need to be far more "automatic" than he is now — sitting at just 28.5 percent — before he can be compared to a player like Kareem. 

If he can get a consistent deep shot, however, his floor-spacing ability will be among the best in the league and his game can grow around it, especially with strong passers. Then again, his "thing" could just as easily become passing, as he'll likely draw multiple defenders. 

As Wembanyama's career with the Spurs inches closer to officially beginning, there is one thing clear: he isn't Kareem yet. He hasn't established himself in the league as a true prospect, either, but his chance to do so will present itself from the jump. 

Abdul-Jabbar changed the game of basketball, and sits among many analysts' top-five of all-time for what he accomplished through his 20 seasons, both on and off the court. 

Now entering San Antonio, a city with a rich history of great centers, Wembanyama has the resources he needs, and could not only impact the Spurs, but the fans as well.

If he does that, he very well could be Gen-Z's own Abdul-Jabbar — the next great center and basketball impactor. 

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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