Victor Wembanyama Praised by Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert: 'He's a Very Old Soul'

The Victor Wembanyama hype has officially reached a fever pitch.

After a star turn in his two-game exhibition stint in Las Vegas, Wembanyama has NBA executives and players gushing about his long-term potential.

"What I love about him is that he's very wise for his age. People don't know that about him. I think he's a very old soul," Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. "That's what really impressed me when I met him when he was 13. When I started to talk to him, I saw the approach that he had. Regardless, people are going to look at the tools and the fact that of course he's unique physically. And also the skillset. But I think what's going to take him where he's going to go is his mindset. He has a great mindset."

Wembanyama put up 73 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots over the course of his stateside debut, continuing his ascent to become the most talked-about prospect since LeBron James. He is a 7'2" marvel with a sweet stroke from three—he hit nine threes in two Vegas games—while also using his length and athleticism to thwart rim attacks.

"No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor," James told reporters. " … He's, for sure, a generational talent."

Barring a catastrophic injury, Wembanyama will be the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz punted away any chance of competing this summer, and they'll be joined by recent tanking mainstays, the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, among the favorites to land Wembanyama. It's almost certain that injuries and other circumstances will lead to other teams joining the race to the bottom once the 2022-23 season gets underway.

It's hard to undersell the hype level surrounding Wembanyama, which means the expectations for him will be outsized once he makes his debut. The very real concerns about his lack of bulk and inconsistent performance in EuroLeague won't matter much to fans who already see him as a potential face of the entire league before he's ever played an NBA minute.