Spurs' Victor Wembanyama 'Better Than The Hype' Says Jamal Crawford

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama received some high praise from NBA great Jamal Crawford.

Jamal Crawford basically saw it all during his 20-year NBA career with nine different teams, but San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is showing him things that's exceeding his expectations.

Crawford made an appearance on Draymond Green's podcast and talked about his first impressions of Wembanyama after he watched him put on a dunk show against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 15.

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"He is better than the hype, not because of the (expletive) you can see, it is the (expletive) you can’t see," Crawford said. "This is what really got me: After the game, I’m walking out and he is in the weight room. He sees me and drops the weights. He comes down, shakes my hand and doesn’t even say nothing. He just puts his head down; he wants some wisdom or knowledge. I saw he is going to be great. … He is actually better than the hype. It is scary."

Coming out of the All-Star Weekend, where he participated in the Rising Stars event and the Skills Challenge, Wembanyama will look to close out his rookie season on a high note while potentially earning some much-deserved hardware. The Spurs lost their first game back on Thursday in a 127-122 finish against the Sacramento Kings.

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Seen as the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award after 50 career games, Wembanyama is currently averaging 20.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and a league-leading 3.2 blocks.

The Spurs will visit the Los Angeles Lakers at crypto.com Arena on Friday night.