Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
NBA Summer League is teeming with exciting young players, as it does every year. This season, rookies like Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson and Amen Thompson are emerging as ones to watch. Second-year players including Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith Jr and Jalen Williams are also stepping into the limelight, demonstrating their incredible growth.
Still, amid this array of youthful talent, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs is generating more chatter than the rest. As the No.1 overall pick, Wembanyama is not just any first-year player. He has entered the NBA with an extraordinary level of hype to live up to, highlighting the immense expectations fans have for him.
This sense of expectancy isn’t restricted to fans alone. In fact, popular NBA personalities, such as former Houston Rockets guard and current NBA analyst Kenny Smith, are also buying into the hype and projecting big things for the 7-foot-4 French phenom.
During an appearance on NBA TV, Smith has even gone as far as predicting that Wembanyama could become the MVP of the league in four years.
“In year four, he will be the MVP of the league. In four years they will be good enough to contend, they will have another player with him, he will know the league, and there will be no LeBron James, Steph Curry, or Kevin Durant at their height. In four years, he will be the MVP.”
“In year four, he’ll be the MVP of the league.”
Kenny Smith has VERY high expectations for Victor Wembanyama in the NBA
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/ei1dAptYpx
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 11, 2023
