Victor Wembanyama Praised as 'League-Altering Talent' After Showcase, NBA Exec Says

The hype continues to build around 18-year-old French sensation Victor Wembanyama after a pair of standout performances in exhibition games against G League Ignite this week.

"He's not a franchise-altering talent. He's a league-altering talent," an unnamed NBA executive told Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer.

The 7'4'' center finished the showcase, which also featured another top 2023 NBA draft prospect in Sterling "Scoot" Henderson, with 73 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots while shooting 50 percent from the field and knocking down nine three-pointers.

Wembanyama delivered on sky-high expectations in his first U.S. appearance. He's a towering presence defensively with almost an unbelievable offensive skill set for a player of his size, with guard-level talent both in terms of ball-handling and shooting.

Perhaps most impressive is his movement, showing fluidity and athleticism simply not seen from players of his length in the past. Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry accurately described him as a "2K create-a-player" with "cheat-code type vibes."

"Victor will be unguardable if he's knocking down jumpers," an NBA general manager told O'Connor.

The combination of Wembanyama and Henderson, who also looked like a future franchise cornerstone in the first exhibition game before getting hurt in Thursday's rematch, is going to create a heated race to the bottom of the standings.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver warned teams against tanking ahead of the 2022-23 season.

"I know that many of our NBA teams are salivating at the notion that potentially through our lottery, they can get [Wembanyama], so they should all still compete very hard next season," Silver told reporters Thursday.

Yet, any possible ramifications from the league office related to alleged tanking efforts pale in comparison to potentially having one of the most coveted prospects in history on your roster for the next decade.

Teams that aren't in contention will try to lose games, and it's hard to blame them.

Wembanyama is still a work in progress, averaging a modest 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13 EuroLeague games last season, but his raw talent represents the next evolution of basketball—seven-footers who can do it all, creating matchup nightmares for opponents.