Victor Wembanyama: What to expect from the NBA’s next great phenom

Victor Wembanyama’s journey to the NBA

Victor Wembanyama is a massive 19-year-old center from France who spent the last four years playing professional basketball overseas. He has played in a ton of leagues throughout his professional career, including the LNB Espoirs, the Eurocup, and the EuroLeague. However, most of his high-level play came with Metropolitans 92 of the Jeep Elite league, who he played with last season.

To fully understand Wembanyama’s development, let’s go back to the 2021 season, in which he played for ASVEL of the Pro A and the EuroLeague. This was the first year of a three-year contract he had with the team, and shortly before this season, he started getting a lot of hype as one of the more promising prospects in the entire world.

However, he wasn’t given an opportunity to show his entire skillset as he played just 17.4 minutes per game and averaged roughly eight points and four rebounds per game. This isn’t too surprising because he was just 18 years old at the time, and players this young usually don’t have a big role, no matter where they play. This is especially true in the EuroLeague, though.

After this season, Wembanyama opted to leave ASVEL and joined Metropolitans 92 of the Jeep Elite league for the 2022-23 season. He was reportedly interested in the team because its head coach, Vincent Collet, had a reputation for developing young players and providing them with opportunities to play.

This turned out to be an incredible decision as he played over 30 minutes per game and averaged roughly 22 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks per game. Metropolitans 92 made Wembanyama the focal point of the team, allowed him to take control of the offense, and gave him opportunities that he was not given before.

The results were phenomenal as Wembanyama cemented himself as one of the most dominant players in Jeep Elite and probably the best prospect in the world.