I really feel like Wemby is a young Kareem

Cavsfansince84 · Post #1 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Sun May 21, 2023 7:25 pm

Not just the build, but also the fluidity that he moves with, the length and the shooting touch. A significantly better ft shooter though and then without the skyhook. I think he to some degree will answer what a young Kareem could do in today's league. Not buying that he's 7-5 but probably about an inch and half taller than Kareem was.

Post #2 » by **Doctor MJ** » Sun May 21, 2023 7:57 pm

Honestly, while I see Kareem as a serious GOAT candidate, I don't see him as someone who was trying to do all-the-things like Wemby.

I think the question is really how good Wemby actually ends up being as all these things. Obviously if he does all those things as well as Kareem did the skyhook, Wemby will be the GOAT, but it's probably more likely that he doesn't do anything as good as the skyhook but is more well-rounded, and then it becomes a question of whether that well-roundedness can make up for the lack of a specific killer weapon as deadly as Kareem had.

scrabbarista · Post #3 » by **scrabbarista** » Sun May 21, 2023 8:02 pm

Cavsfansince84 wrote:Not just the build, but also the fluidity that he moves with, the length and the shooting touch. A significantly better ft shooter though and then without the skyhook. I think he to some degree he will answer what a young Kareem could do in today's league. Not buying that he's 7-5 but probably about an inch and half taller than Kareem was.

He makes Gobert look small. If he's not 7'5", he's within an inch. He was Gobert's length or more when he was 16.

I called him Kareem 2.0 like three years ago (here on RGM). But I wouldn't get caught up in the comparison. I just meant in terms of size, fluidity, and potential to be the best to ever play the game.

OldSchoolNoBull · Post #4 » by **OldSchoolNoBull** » Sun May 21, 2023 8:08 pm

Can we not throw around "GOAT" when talking about a guy who hasn't played a single NBA game yet? Please?

1993Playoffs · Post #5 » by **1993Playoffs** » Sun May 21, 2023 8:19 pm

I just hope guys aren’t setting the kid up to fail. What if he’s closer to AD witch is a pretty high peak in its own right

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Cavsfansince84 · Post #6 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Sun May 21, 2023 8:21 pm

Doctor MJ wrote:Honestly, while I see Kareem as a serious GOAT candidate, I don't see him as someone who was trying to do all-the-things like Wemby.

I think the question is really how good Wemby actually ends up being as all these things. Obviously if he does all those things as well as Kareem did the skyhook, Wemby will be the GOAT, but it's probably more likely that he doesn't do anything as good as the skyhook but is more well-rounded, and then it becomes a question of whether that well-roundedness can make up for the lack of a specific killer weapon as deadly as Kareem had.

Ya but honestly you could completely take away the skyhook from Kareem in the 70's and he'd be nearly as good. He didn't rely on it that much until the 80's. He could just create his own shot at will on most defenders and was so much quicker than most any other center.

Cavsfansince84 · Post #7 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Sun May 21, 2023 8:22 pm

OldSchoolNoBull wrote:Can we not throw around "GOAT" when talking about a guy who hasn't played a single NBA game yet? Please?

Who used the term goat? Obviously Kareem is a goat level player but this thread is mainly to do with physical gifts and skills at a young age. He has very similar size, body type, athleticism and shooting touch.

capfan33 · Post #8 » by **capfan33** » Sun May 21, 2023 9:03 pm

I do think the closest historical comparison for him physically is a young Kareem but of course, it's purely a physical comparison, he has a long way to go as a player. With that being said, we've never seen anything quite like him physically.

I do think it will be interesting to see how he holds up, that might be the most underrated aspect of Kareem's career overall. He may be a bit too tall for his own good but I'm hopeful.

Heej · Post #9 » by **Heej** » Sun May 21, 2023 9:45 pm

capfan33 wrote:I do think the closest historical comparison for him physically is a young Kareem but of course, it's purely a physical comparison, he has a long way to go as a player. With that being said, we've never seen anything quite like him physically.

I do think it will be interesting to see how he holds up, that might be the most underrated aspect of Kareem's career overall. He may be a bit too tall for his own good but I'm hopeful.

From what I understand he's been extremely diligent and proactive about doing preventative foot exercises. I wouldn't be surprised if he beats the odds if that's the case. Which I don't doubt given that his advanced skillset at this age shows that he has an extremely high work ethic relative to his peers.

Definitely agree that Wemby is kinda like a time machine Kareem. Tbh if he pans out he's kinda the example I'd look at when trying to assess a time machine comp. Equivalent era-relative dominance with an era-specific skillset and the understanding that there's on average more MVP and near-MVP level guys active in the league in more modern eras. So depending on the era you can't expect the same outcomes if the competition is stronger, but rather just try to assess the goodness+impact of their skillset

Post #10 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Sun May 21, 2023 10:49 pm

Cavsfansince84 wrote:Not just the build, but also the fluidity that he moves with, the length and the shooting touch. A significantly better ft shooter though and then without the skyhook. I think he to some degree will answer what a young Kareem could do in today's league. Not buying that he's 7-5 but probably about an inch and half taller than Kareem was.

Zach Edey was 7'3.25 barefoot at the combine this week....

This photo is almost 2 years ago, assuming no one has grown any fractions of an inch, he has to be close 7'4 barefoot.

Spoiler:

Cavsfansince84 · Post #11 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Sun May 21, 2023 10:56 pm

NO-KG-AI wrote:
Zach Edey was 7'3.25 barefoot at the combine this week....

This photo is almost 2 years ago, assuming no one has grown any fractions of an inch, he has to be close 7'4 barefoot.

Spoiler:

Close to 7-4 barefoot is probably right.

McBubbles · Post #12 » by **McBubbles** » Sun May 21, 2023 11:20 pm

My hot take: He'll be fine. Well I say fine, I mean he'll be more AD then he'll be Kareem or Hakeem imo. Great, but not ultra great.

FuShengTHEGreat · Post #13 » by **FuShengTHEGreat** » Sun May 21, 2023 11:33 pm

capfan33 wrote:I do think the closest historical comparison for him physically is a young Kareem but of course, it's purely a physical comparison, he has a long way to go as a player. With that being said, we've never seen anything quite like him physically.

Or this guy:

Watch on YouTube

I think he was arguably even more athletic/agile than young Kareem and maybe a inch taller too.

Samurai · Post #14 » by **Samurai** » Mon May 22, 2023 12:01 am

OldSchoolNoBull wrote:Can we not throw around "GOAT" when talking about a guy who hasn't played a single NBA game yet? Please?

Actually it seems that the post was calling Wemby "Kareem 2.0" and not the word GOAT. If you see the word GOAT, then it would help to highlight it so we can all see it.

But it does seem ironic to me, particularly since the post was comparing Wemby to a young Kareem. You may recall that after Kareem (Lew back then) was drafted, there was a sports magazine with Kareem on the cover and the question "Is he the best ever?" Kareem at that point had not yet played in his first NBA pre-season game but that was the cover of a major magazine! I thought it was insane then and I still feel that way now.

LukaTheGOAT · Post #15 » by **LukaTheGOAT** » Mon May 22, 2023 12:06 am

Also, I'm not sure about some other legend bigs, but Wemby has about a 8 ft wingspan and you can really see this when he takes off from

Read on Twitter

scrabbarista · Post #16 » by **scrabbarista** » Mon May 22, 2023 3:28 am

Cavsfansince84 wrote:
NO-KG-AI wrote:
Zach Edey was 7'3.25 barefoot at the combine this week....

This photo is almost 2 years ago, assuming no one has grown any fractions of an inch, he has to be close 7'4 barefoot.

Spoiler:

Close to 7-4 barefoot is probably right.

TWO YEARS AGO. And he's 19.

Post #17 » by **tsherkin** » Mon May 22, 2023 3:30 am

Looking at Wemby, at no point have I thought Kareem at all. Height aside, they aren't really similar at all.

LukaTheGOAT · Post #18 » by **LukaTheGOAT** » Mon May 22, 2023 3:48 am

McBubbles wrote:My hot take: He'll be fine. Well I say fine, I mean he'll be more AD then he'll be Kareem or Hakeem imo. Great, but not ultra great.

What do you believe is tangibly in his game separating him from Kareem or Hakeem?

Post #19 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Mon May 22, 2023 5:15 am

tsherkin wrote:Looking at Wemby, at no point have I thought Kareem at all. Height aside, they aren't really similar at all.

You don't think so in terms of fluidity, movement, and all that? I see a lot of it. He looks a lot more thin and lanky to me, but his fluidity and athleticism at those upper limits of human height is basically he and Kareem, and I guess Ralph Sampson lol.

Post #20 » by **tsherkin** » Mon May 22, 2023 2:49 pm

NO-KG-AI wrote:You don't think so in terms of fluidity, movement, and all that? I see a lot of it. He looks a lot more thin and lanky to me, but his fluidity and athleticism at those upper limits of human height is basically he and Kareem, and I guess Ralph Sampson lol.

If you limit to that, sure. I think he's considerably weaker in the base and obviously much more focused on perimeter shooting, so I suppose "ya he's super tall and doesn't move like he's bearing the weight of the world" as a comparison works. I think it isn't enough to really draw a meaningful comparison. He's not going to play anything like Kareem, and even compared to UCLA Kareem, he looks thin.