5 rivals who should be on Wembanyama’s hit list next season with the Spurs

2) Joel Embiid

Having an MVP and two-time scoring champ on your hit list is ambitious, but Embiid has to pay for dropping 70 points on Wembanyama. Unlike the other players on this list, Wembanyama has a limited opportunity for payback with Embiid playing in the Eastern Conference and is good to miss 20 games a season.

Still, Wembanyama dropped 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks as a rookie against Embiid, and with Chris Paul setting him up, he might top that by trying to drop 50 points. That would be a statement, especially with Embiid seen as the second-best center in the NBA and turning 30 next season.

Letting him know that Wemby is in his rearview would go a long way towards a changing of the guard. There might also be some added incentive for Wembanyama, with Embiid choosing to play for Team USA instead of France and winning gold while Wembanyama had to settle for silver. All of that makes for intriguing storylines in a meeting of the two big men.