Victor Wembanyama is 4 wins away from giving Nikola Jokic's worst nightmare life

Remember when Nikola Jokic told an interviewer that he'll probably be retired by the time the Spurs' superstar, Victor Wembanyama, puts the "league in a chokehold"? Of course you do, because it was only a few months ago. But unfortunately for the Joker, his timeline was off by a significant margin, and destiny is arriving sooner than he anticipated.

An NBA championship giftwraps the league to Wembanyama

Pundits are already calling the Alien the best player in the world, and conversations are raging about whether or not the NBA already belongs to him. Winning a title at 22 years old would turn those debates into confirmation hearings. There won't be much left to discuss with what he's already accomplished in the short time he's been on San Antonio's roster.

Wemby just won the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award; he stacked his achievements by adding a First Team All-NBA nod and a third-place MVP finish to his resume. He averaged 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks, leading his team to a 62-win record nobody saw coming.

He was making a loud argument for the league's best before the postseason began. However, and understandably so, many need to see a player perform in the playoffs before awarding him the supreme title as best in the league. We're getting that now, and Wemanyama is not disappointing. He's just checking off boxes and moving to the next task.

Knocking off OKC was a significant inflection point. Projections everywhere predicted the defending champions would win another championship with their two-time MVP powering their run. The Spurs stopped that mission dead in its tracks, bringing me to my next point. San Antonio is built to empower Wembanyama's bid for control of the NBA.

Wembanyama doesn't have to wait for help on the Spurs

Lack of a strong supporting unit is a common theme for great players when they're young. The teams selecting them are usually at the top of the draft because they're terrible. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are two shining examples. They were amazing players pretty quickly, but they couldn't get the job done largely because they didn't have the right guys around them.

Wemby doesn't have that problem.

Between De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, the Silver and Black have four guys who can play like all-stars in any game. They're only going to grow, getting better together over time and making San Antonio even more difficult to contend with. Wembanyama is the clear alpha on the squad, but he also gets the benefit of having a group of hungry dogs next to him.

Dominating the league is not a one-person job. It requires the co-star(s) to back up the superstar when high-stakes games get sticky and a competent organization to ensure the roster remains competitive around those guys. Wembanyama has those things, and we know that because he's about to play in his first NBA Finals with a great chance of winning.

So, unless the Joker is ready to retire effective immediately, he'll have to live in the warm embrace of an alien chokehold like everyone else.

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