Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has had his game dissected by just about everyone across the NBA, as fans and teams look to get a better understanding of the league’s “next big thing.”
Not everyone appears to be buying into the hype surrounding the 19-year-old Frenchman, however.
Former NBA player Olden Polynice made an appearance on Fox Sports’ “The Odd Couple,” during which he revealed his shockingly low expectations for Wembanyama’s NBA career.
Rather than buy into the Wemby hype, Polynice is sitting squarely on the opposite side of the spectrum, suggesting the 7’4” center compares more closely to Shawn Bradley than he does any of the league’s all-time greats.
“He hopes to be better than Shawn Bradley in my opinion. I'm serious,” Polynice said. “I’m not even putting him in the Yao Ming category right now.”
For reference, Bradley averaged 8.1 points and 6.3 rebounds across a 12-year career in the NBA, failing to make a single All-Star Game or win a championship, though he was the league’s blocks leader in 1996-97.
“Guys like that they're over 7’5” and just shot blockers. He's going to try to do all the stuff he was doing overseas. It's going to be very difficult for him to do in the NBA,” added Polynice.
Polynice, who played in more than 1,000 NBA games across 15 seasons for the Supersonics, Kings, Jazz, Clippers, and Pistons, offered a further hot take regarding Wembanyama’s potential, indicating he thinks Suns big man Bol Bol is a superior talent.
“Yes, Bol Bol has better physical talent and is (more) ready to play in the NBA right now than Victor is.”
Wembanyama will have to wait until the regular season gets underway in October before he’ll have the chance to prove his doubters wrong.
