Wembanyama vs. Tatum: Who would you rather have for the 2024-25 season?

[Lalouie]

The poll results were pretty much in line with Tatum 2024 level and projection of generational talent (Wemby) in his 2nd year.

What's interesting about this comparison is a fact that while Wemby has already reached 'expected' level (~top5 player in the rS) - stats-wise, Tatum has been so far playing the best basketball of his career:

2025: 28.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 5.6 APG, 61.0 TS%, 10.5 TOV%, +7.3 BPM with +8.1 on/off on +9 SRS team
2024: 26.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.9 APG, 60.4 TS%, 10.3 TOV%, +5.1 BPM with -1.2 on/off on +11 SRS team

For me, it's a 50/50 comparison for now (especially considering how fantastic fit Wemby would've been for a stacked team like Celtics) if Tatum can maintain current level. He basically improved overall volume without losing any efficiency, that's impressive.

there's two assumptions here. THIS implies a foreseeable future. an assumption of what might be based what has developed so far. while the presense of tatum already is a KNOWN

THIS assumes wemby would already have been part of the c's rotation

neither is true. it's just one year, THIS year, to fit a new player in an already set ring team while taking out an all pro who is already part of the system

if you want to imagine this year's celts with wemby, please do mazulla the courtesy of giving the c's a healthy KP

There’s no way Wemby is not in the Celtics’ rotation. Even in his rookie season

for trading out tatum?
i think they turn it down

[wegotthabeet]

Huh? Yeah it is. If I disagree strongly enough with the vote being 3:1 in favor of Wemby, then it is the same as me having the opinion that the vote being 3:1 in favor of Wemby is "silly" or, as I said in a previous post, "ridiculous."

I don’t know why you’re hung up on the voting ratio, but you bumped this thread to make some smarmy comment for no reason. The ratio of votes is completely irrelevant to the discussion. Wemby is simply better than Tatum sooner than you could’ve imagined and that’s what happens when you bump threads. It came back to bite you. Just take the L and move on.

I need to ask the mods to check if there is a technical glitch on the board. Because when I look at this thread I see my post on December 9, and then I see your post on what, December 26? I know you want to be honest and objective here, right? Of course you wouldn't bump anything because I know you don't like it when others do it....right?
So where do we stand today. Tatum started this discussion handicapped. More people here like Wemby than Tatum. And there is always the fallback of the talent around Tatum when all else fails. That's where the 3:1 voting comes in. TODAY the Spurs are a play in team. There are no Ws or Ls, unless of course someone is a hater. I promise I will give my roses to Wemby and say that he is better than Tatum when it is true and appropriate. Wemby is exciting, generational, and the future of the NBA. But I already said all that on December 9, but I'm glad the thread got bumped so I could repeat my feelings about both players. I love having Tatum on the Celtics.

The thread was created July 10th then someone bumped it in December. They should have never bumped it to begin with.

[wegotthabeet]

I think this is my first time clicking on this thread but I'm still trying to figure out why every fanbase that's excited about their best player wants to make the argument that he's better than Jayson Tatum lol. This has to be the 75th thread about such a thing lol.

Tatum is just where the superstar tier ends and the star tier begins. Hence why he’s the perfect barometer. If you’re better than him then you’re a superstar. He isn’t. It’s that simple.

[ITYSL]

I'm also amused that, like bisme said, Tatum is like a benchmark player for people on this board. It's practically a meme to start a thread to compare whatever player they like best to Tatum.

I think that, from the start, you're overreacting to Tatum's inclusion in this comparison. If anything, it's complimentary to Tatum to be compared to someone as good as Wemby has been this season.

Fair point. Perhaps I did overreact a bit.

By the same token, I know the context with which this thread was created. The OP was advocating for Wemby in the best players thread. When Tatum was picked over him (at 6th or 7th, I can't remember), he ran off and created this thread, complete with clearly contrasting pictures of the two players. I teased him about that and that was pretty much it. So I don't think this thread was created with the intention of being complimentary to Tatum in any way.

Either way, I have no issue with Wemby being compared to any of the top players this season, especially with his play over the last month or so. He's been great and a joy to watch.

[tsherkin]

Either way, I have no issue with Wemby being compared to any of the top players this season, especially with his play over the last month or so. He's been great and a joy to watch.

I appreciate you providing some history, but let's just treat this as what it is: a comparison for this specific season. With recognition that both are very good players. And that Tatum is pretty well-suited to Boston, and working out extremely well for them, to be sure

[Sweet Serenity]

I'm also amused that, like bisme said, Tatum is like a benchmark player for people on this board. It's practically a meme to start a thread to compare whatever player they like best to Tatum.

I think that, from the start, you're overreacting to Tatum's inclusion in this comparison. If anything, it's complimentary to Tatum to be compared to someone as good as Wemby has been this season.

So good he’s leading his team to 1 game above 500

The glaze you guys spew towards Wemby is hilarious.

[Edrees]

There should not be any doubt in anybody's mind now. Wemby > Tatum and the gap will continue to increase that in 2 years this thread will look like an insult to Wemby.

Your reading comprehension is an insult to the rest of us. This vote was this season only. Not two years from now.

Even this season, Wemby has already surpassed Tatum

And why does that change in 2 years? It should be an insult today then. Two years from now is irrelevant to the discussion if you have reading comprehension, you would say it is an insult to Wemby today and leave two years out of it because it has 0 relevance to the choice here.

It's just not relevant to mention two years from now unless you can't understand the question.

Also if someone thinks it is an "insult" to say a player is better than another when they are only a few spots from each other, that's also very extreme and they are insulted a little too easily. There's no clear cut way to rank players, having players 2-3 spots off from each other is reasonable and not 'insulting" If I think a player is the 4th best player in the NBA and you think he is the 6th, you should not be offended. It isn't that big of a difference. Have a discussion about it instead of being offended that someone doesn't have your 100% exact ranking. If someone said Wemby is worse than DLO or some scrub, then you should be insulted. Calling him worse than another ALL Nba player who is also a top 10 player in the league is not an "insult". Even if Wemby is better, which he probably is, they are comparable this year.

By that logic, anyone who posts a Top 10 NBA list is always insulting NBA players because nobody will agree on the exact list to the exact spot.

[tsherkin]

I'm also amused that, like bisme said, Tatum is like a benchmark player for people on this board. It's practically a meme to start a thread to compare whatever player they like best to Tatum.

I think that, from the start, you're overreacting to Tatum's inclusion in this comparison. If anything, it's complimentary to Tatum to be compared to someone as good as Wemby has been this season.

So good he’s leading his team to 1 game above 500

The glaze you guys spew towards Wemby is hilarious.

This is a remarkably low-quality comment. Do you not understand how the sport works? Or its history?

Roster quality dictates team success. It's that simple. Or did you forget that Jordan rocked a stunning 40 wins while posting 37/5/4.5? Or 38 as a rook when he posted 28/6.5/6?

Wemby's doing big things for the Spurs who JUST LAST YEAR were a 22-win squad.

C'mon man, don't be so blatant with your trolling.

[Rust_Cohle]

Swap wemby with Tatum and the spurs lose by 20

[ITYSL]

I guess we can kind of wrap this thread up. It really sucks that Wemby got hurt for the season. He's been so much fun to watch and I hope he makes a full recovery, as he has the potential to be dominant for years to come.

BPM: Wemby
VORP: Tatum
LEBRON: Tatum
LEBRON WAR: Tatum
EPM: Wemby
EPM Wins: Tatum

I think I chose correctly.