OT: Thoughts on Wembanyama?

[tsherkin]

Sidenote, it’s crazy how a true generational talent always seems to appear just as the last one is fading out.

I mean, ostensibly that's how the cycle of generational talent works, right? As a new generation is emerging, the new generational talent emerges.

[TrustFundBaby]

OP do me a favor and tell me if my takes aged well

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2290430&p=106278938#p106279241

[PhilBlackson]

Sidenote, it’s crazy how a true generational talent always seems to appear just as the last one is fading out.

I mean, ostensibly that's how the cycle of generational talent works, right? As a new generation is emerging, the new generational talent emerges.

Duh lol but it doesn't mean it's any less of an odd coincidence the timing of it.

It's not like what you said explains why MJ & LeBron didn't happen to play in the same era or why someone like Wemby didn't appear earlier in LeBron's career etc. Ie/ when MJ was retiring, the league was scrambling to find the next "MJ" ie/ Grant Hill...and then fortunately Shaq/Kobe appeared as MJ was fading. Now the league was getting so desperate with LeBron's retirement on the horizon, they were trying to force feed Ant as the "next one" even if when some of the guys the league tried to position to take the throne don't really fit the criteria. The world just seems to have it's own odd way of bringing these guys in just in the nick of time is all I'm saying.

[Blazing_royale]

Dude is a player you create out of a video game.

[Basketball_Jones]

Doesn’t seem to get bumped off his spots anymore and he handles/catches the ball like a nerf ball. Add in shooting touch and he’s pretty unstoppable now.

[TOStateofMind]

you cant even do the stuff he does in video games..dude is unreal lol

[Tor_Raps]

Will always haunt me that Masai decided to trade for Poeltl and go for the play-in over tanking for this dude. It doesnt mean we would have gotten him but more so of the logic at the time

[Pointgod]

Move over Jokic, it’s Wemby’s league now.

[CPT]

Will always haunt me that Masai decided to trade for Poeltl and go for the play-in over tanking for this dude. It doesnt mean we would have gotten him but more so of the logic at the time

I’m glad someone else said it first

[TimeForChange]

Will always haunt me that Masai decided to trade for Poeltl and go for the play-in over tanking for this dude. It doesnt mean we would have gotten him but more so of the logic at the time

so glad he's gone

[tsherkin]

Duh lol but it doesn't mean it's any less of an odd coincidence the timing of it.

No, I mean, that's... generally how it's worked. As Mikan was fading, Russell came. As Russell and Wilt were fading out, Kareem came. At the end of Kareem's MVP prime, Magic and Bird came, and Jordan was a couple years after (with Olajuwon, no less). D-Rob and Shaq came in the early 90s. Lebron came a year after Jordan's final retirement. Steph came like a dozen years later, if you include him as a generational guy, though we're speaking more of physical attributes than skill set.

So historically, we've generally seen generational talent following on as the last one fades out. That was my point.

There's sometimes a period where we're waiting for something positionally, and there's occasionally the odd dry spell in the league, to be sure... and if Lebron hadn't had literally the greatest longevity in league history, then we'd be speaking of a league which featured little but the fading stars of Steph, KD and Harden in it alongside the up and comers until Wemby came along.

It's a pretty normal cycle time.

[DaFroMan]

Its like wilt + KD + Giannis had a baby. If he remains healthy and his teams win chips he will be in the goat convo. He's starting to get that swag too where he knows he's the best.

[PushDaRock]

He's excellent.

His footwork is atrocious, though, and he gets away with travels on like every other play. But he's got great touch, he moves well without the ball, he's a solid give-and-go guy (underrated passer in general) and he's clearly focusing more on the mid-post this year (as most people were screaming for), which is EXCELLENT to see. He also has a handle, which is terrifying at his size, and he doesn't really have to jump in order to flush it with two hands, which is insane. Like one of the first plays in that video was a give and go with a weak pass and he just turned and barely elevated at all but still smashed a 2-hand rim-rattler.

He's a lot of fun to watch.

I thought I was seeing things because it felt like he drags or switches his pivot foot on like every single up and under move but never gets called for it.

[PushDaRock]

Will always haunt me that Masai decided to trade for Poeltl and go for the play-in over tanking for this dude. It doesnt mean we would have gotten him but more so of the logic at the time

so glad he's gone

Hoping you lead us to the promise land

[tsherkin]

I thought I was seeing things because it felt like he drags or switches his pivot foot on like every single up and under move but never gets called for it.

That's part of it, but it's the blatant 3- and 4-step drives which really get me, heh. It's just all pretty rough. He's young and a lot of this is comparatively new, so I hope he tightens it up. He's been working with Olajuwon, which is kind of cool, and appropriate from a style POV. He had good concepts in what he wanted FROM Olajuwon, which was even better.

So we'll see how things play out going forward.

[Los_29]

Last night, the game looked easy for him. He was doing some incredible things that a guy his size shouldn’t be doing.

It’s year 3 for him and there will be lots of pressure this year on him to win. And I think they will. They are a great team.

[kalel123]

Will be great if he stays healthy. He's had both of his seasons thus far cut short with injuries so will see.

[tsherkin]

Will be great if he stays healthy. He's had both of his seasons thus far cut short with injuries so will see.

This is a little bit of an exaggeration, as he played 5 of the last 7 games in his rookie year, including the 81st game of the season.

[Los_29]

Will be great if he stays healthy. He's had both of his seasons thus far cut short with injuries so will see.

This is a little bit of an exaggeration, as he played 5 of the last 7 games in his rookie year, including the 81st game of the season.

Yeah he was pretty durable in his rookie year. 71 games on a team completely out of contention is very solid.

He had more of a serious issue last year but that seems to have been resolved.

[tsherkin]

Will be great if he stays healthy. He's had both of his seasons thus far cut short with injuries so will see.

This is a little bit of an exaggeration, as he played 5 of the last 7 games in his rookie year, including the 81st game of the season.

Yeah he was pretty durable in his rookie year. 71 games on a team completely out of contention is very solid.

He had more of a serious issue last year but that seems to have been resolved.

Ayep. And it wasn't an injury so much as a physiological condition. We'll see how that goes going forward.