Why are former NBA players intent on disrespecting Victor Wembanyama?

It pains me to see that this is still a talking point for anyone not named Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is known to be unrelenting once he makes a claim, so fans shouldn't be surprised when he compares Victor Wembanyama to Bol Bol anymore. But the notion seems to be a virus infecting the minds of former players because Tim Hardaway Sr., Tyrese Haliburton's nemesis, is now saying the same thing.

It's ridiculous to bring up Bol Bol when discussing Wembanyama

It's fair to blame Shaq for starting this whole thing in the first place. He's the first person to bring this up, and since then, we've seen several former players say something similar. By the way, take notice that there have been zero active players to echo these sentiments, and they're the ones who play with or against these guys.

On Inside the NBA, The Big Shamrock was more brash with his claims, but on his podcast, he clarified in a way that made it seem like the comparison was rational.

Okay. If you want to say that Bol Bol is capable of doing some special things occasionally at his size, that's cool, but what's the point? That's the problem with this whole thing. There's a reason why Wembanyama gets the praise he does. He has the laser focus of the elites, and his ability to put it all together on both sides of the floor consistently at his size makes him unique.

When Kawhi Leonard was emerging as one of the league's best players, he received praise without people trying to compare him to Rudy Gay, who was also 6'7" with a 7'3" wingspan. It would have been easy to claim that if Gay just "worked harder," he could have been the same kind of player Leonard was, but why would anyone do that?

When the Steph Curry takeover began, you never heard anyone say, "Yeah, but you're acting like you've never seen anyone hit threes before. If Gary Neal worked harder, he could hit threes like Steph." Because again, why would anyone do that?

We live in a time where everyone wants to compare everything to something else, and it's destroying genuinely enjoyable sports discourse. Fans should be able to enjoy the NBA and its new stars without constant comparisons to the past or irrelevant players who have no business being in the same sentence. It's okay to just admit that Victor Wembanyama is amazing. You can keep it pushing after that.