\n
\nHENDERSON, Nevada: Victor Wembanyama blocked a shot Thursday afternoon, ran to the other end of the court, went airborne from just inside the foul line, corralled an alley-oop pass with one hand and slammed home a dunk.<\/p>\n
\nThe entire sequence lasted eight seconds.<\/p>\n
\nIt may have been the signature moment \u2014 and there were a lot of candidates \u2014 from Wembanyama\u2019s two-game trip to the US, which ended Thursday with the French phenom\u2019s Metropolitans 92 team rallying from 16 points down to top the G League Ignite 112-106. He led the way, of course, with 36 points and 11 rebounds.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAs a first impression of the American game, that was really great,\u201d Wembanyama said.<\/p>\n
\nSo was he.<\/p>\n
\nHis final numbers from two exhibitions: 73 points on 22-for-44 shooting, nine 3-pointers, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots. He flies back to France on Saturday, and the next time he plays in the US there likely will be an NBA logo on his jersey, presumably after he becomes the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s very, very special for France,\u201d Metropolitans 92 coach Vincent Collet said. \u201cNot only for France. He has huge potential. He\u2019s a huge talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe reviews are in from this two-game Vegas residency for Wembanyama, who stands 7-foot-3 in bare feet, and they were of the raving variety. The best of the bunch may have come from Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who suggested that calling Wembanyama a unicorn might not fully indicate how unique he is.<\/p>\n
\nInstead, James went with an out-of-this-world comparison.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cEverybody\u2019s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he\u2019s more like an alien,\u201d James said. \u201cNo one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor … He\u2019s, for sure, a generational talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAdded Golden State guard Stephen Curry: \u201cHe\u2019s like the (NBA) 2K create-a-player, every point guard that wants to be 7-foot. Cheat-code type vibes, man. He\u2019s a solid talent. It\u2019s great to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nSure enough, when Wembanyama\u2019s around, a viral moment can happen at any time. It might be a dunk. It might be a block. It might be a fadeaway 3-pointer from the corner while his momentum has him drifting toward the baseline. It might be a 28-foot 3-pointer from the wing. It might be him kicking a ball into a monitor and narrowly missing fellow French center Rudy Gobert.<\/p>\n
\nYes, all those things happened.<\/p>\n
\nThe scene: Gobert and fellow Minnesota Timberwolves standout D\u2019Angelo Russell, in town to play the Lakers in a preseason game later Thursday, decided to postpone their afternoon nap \u2014 a staple of the NBA gameday routine \u2014 and make the 20-minute ride from Las Vegas to watch the game, arriving at halftime.<\/p>\n
\nGobert made a quick appearance on the game\u2019s televised broadcast. Wembanyama, standing nearby, stuck one of his massive feet into the path of a pass by Ignite center Eric Mika. The ball ricocheted into the monitor near Gobert\u2019s seat, knocking it over.<\/p>\n
\nGobert laughed. Wembanyama raised his hand to apologize.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHey, he played soccer too,\u201d Gobert said.<\/p>\n
\nGobert raves about Wembanyama, who almost certainly will be the first top-five draft pick from France. And he doesn\u2019t think there\u2019s any real comparison: Gobert said Wembanyama\u2019s defensive instincts remind him of himself, while his ballhandling and shooting remind him of Kevin Durant.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhat strikes me the most about him is his maturity,\u201d Gobert said. \u201cObviously, he\u2019s a very unique talent and he has a very unique physique. But his maturity and his confidence … he\u2019s very unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThursday\u2019s game had a bit of a scare, and the other top NBA draft headliner in this showcase got the worst of that moment.<\/p>\n
\nScoot Henderson, the guard whose 28 points led the Ignite to a 122-115 victory on Tuesday night in the exhibition opener, left Thursday\u2019s game after less than five minutes. The reason: He banged knees with Wembanyama.<\/p>\n
\nHenderson switched onto Wembanyama, who was dribbling on the wing. Wembanyama made a move, collided into Henderson and tumbled to the court, looking initially like he got the worst of that exchange. But Henderson, who was called for a foul on the play, wound up limping off for evaluation and the Ignite quickly said he wouldn\u2019t be returning.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cScoot\u2019s fine,\u201d G League coach Jason Hart said. \u201cIt was precautionary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThere are 31 games left on Metropolitans\u2019 34-game schedule in the French league, and the plan \u2014 as of now \u2014 is for Wembanyama to finish his season, which is slated to go through mid-May. The NBA Draft is June 22.<\/p>\n
\nBouna Ndiaye, one of Wembanyama\u2019s agents, said some NBA teams might not understand why he\u2019s playing. The reason, he says, is because nobody can get Wembanyama out of the gym.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe wants to live on the court,\u201d Ndiaye said.<\/p>\n
\nWhat these two games showed, in many ways, was just that the tapes of Wembanyama that have been coming out of Europe over the last few years weren\u2019t lying. He needs to get stronger. There\u2019s much he can still polish. He is, by all accounts, exceptional already.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cJust before we came in last Saturday, we had a meeting with our doctor and we are going to prepare to plan the next two months to increase what he is doing, besides the court, to strengthen the body,\u201d Collet said. \u201cWe\u2019re always careful also with how much time he is practicing, not to go too far. … We plan so that we limit the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhen Thursday was over, when the comeback was complete, Wembanyama briefly lifted his arms skyward in celebration, then shook a lot of hands, partook in a lot of hugs and posed for a lot of pictures.<\/p>\n
\nWith that, the draft hype continued on.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m still excited and so happy about it,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI know I\u2019m so lucky to have this chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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