Victor Wembanyama has forced a debate that 22 year-olds rarely do

Is Victor Wembanyama the best player in the NBA? Personally, I'm not quite ready to hand over that title to the Spurs' superstar yet, as Nikola Jokic remains a historically impactful offensive player and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander somehow gets more efficient on one of the best teams of all time.

It won't be long until Wemby's name is interchangeable with those two guys, though, and the fact that this question can already be asked without guffaws in return is pretty telling. Wemby putting himself in this conversation in his third season at 22 years old is remarkable — and rare. Zach Lowe of The Ringer broached the topic on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, saying:

"This is his third year and... There's a reasonable conversation to be had already, 'Is he the best player in the NBA?' I'm a little shaken by saying it out loud, and so I started to think, like, who was earliest in their careers to be considered possibly the best player in the NBA?"

Lowe mentioned Kareem, Jordan, LeBron, Duncan, and Shaq as guys who were at least in the conversation for best in the league by their third seasons or age-22 seasons. That's good company to keep, to say the list.

Who could challenge Wembanyama for NBA's future best?

Notably, the list of players who were already borderline MVPs by their third season all stayed at (or above) that level for pretty much their entire careers. In other words, there was pretty much no regression for guys who got this good, this fast. Sometimes it's hard to predict who the best player in the league will be five years in the future. It feels pretty easy right now.

Nikola Jokic has been playing at such a high level for such a long time that five years from now, he'll presumbaly still be incredible, but it's hard to imagine he'll be at the level he is now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should still be in the mix, and Cooper Flagg will have a real chance to challenge Wemby for the top spot in the league.

As strange as it sounds, that was to be expected. The excitement for Wemby as a prospect wasn't hype; it was all warranted. And even if, when he was drafted, he was expected to become elite within three years, it's still pretty stunning to watch unfold. That's why — even though this was supposed to happen — it's still being whispered before it can be shouted.