Controversial analyst ranks NBA players, surprising spot for Wembanyama

If you know who Nick Wright is, you know that he can be extremely hard to impress. When everyone was foaming at the mouth over what they expected from Victor Wembanyama entering his rookie season, Wright was hesitant, expressing uncertainty over whether the 7'4 alien could even come close to living up to the hype.

To his credit, the FS1 analyst gave Victor his flowers when he realized the hype may not have been loud enough, even going so far as to say that he believed Vic exceeded expectations. But even with that praise, the First Things First staple has always been cautious with elevating players too early in their careers before they prove anything.

Players in the NBA are talented, and it is completely understandable to require seeing more from such a young player before placing him among the best athletes in the league. But there are exceptions made for exceptional talents, and Wright seems to recognize that.

He's right about Wembanyama's placement

There will always be issues to take with a single person's rankings since these lists are always subjective but Wright is right on the money here. He always says that the tiers are not in order, so Donovan Mitchell is not necessarily ahead of Wembanyama but on the same level. That's where I'll disagree. Regardless of how people feel about Kawhi Leonard, he was an MVP candidate this year before getting injured again; he deserves to be where Mitchell is.

Mitchell's lack of defense is what hurts him here; make that change, and all the guys 11–15 are elite two-way players. Impacting the opposing team's offense may be undervalued at times in the mainstream media, but it will not be overlooked here.

Other than that, it is difficult to argue with what's presented in this King of the Hill segment. Victor Wembanyama will be one of the Defensive Player of the Year favorites every year for the next 10-plus seasons. A perennial DPOY candidate who can average 25 points or more is a top-15 NBA player without question. He has yet to post 25 points per game, but watching this kid should give everyone confidence that he can reach that mark next season.

You probably didn't think you were going to agree with Nick Wright today, but here you are.

You can watch the entire segment below