Wembanyama on the verge of turning irrational confidence into chilling prophecy

Victor Wembanyama is checking every box, creating more boxes, then checking those, too. The Spurs' superstar is a mix of a guard, wing, and center all rolled into one. Scouts told us he'd be great, but it feels undersold at this point. Wemby wants to win a ring, and in his third season, he's one win away from the Western Conference Finals. This must be what Morpheus felt like when he realized Neo was the one.

It's not uncommon for young, talented players to focus on winning. However, it is rare for them to accomplish the level of winning that matters early in their careers. Their inexperience tells them, "You'll have your time, but it's not now." Usually, they're just not skilled enough, strong enough, or experienced enough, and sometimes, they simply lack the necessary pieces around them. Not Vic.

During the offseason, Hakeem Olajuwon told Wemby he doesn't have to wait to win, and Vic believed him. That sucks for the rest of the league because this is what belief looks like for an alien.

Wembanyama is accelerating his GOAT trajectory

If you remove the two playoff games the towering Frenchman left early, he's averaging 25 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists, and 1 steal with a 66.9% TS. The numbers don't even do his impact justice. You see a force of nature when watching Wembanyama play basketball. He dictates absolutely everything on the floor, and he doesn't need the ball in his hands to do it.

His monstrous effect on the game is the number one reason why the Spurs are on the verge of making the Western Conference Finals in their first playoff appearance as a group. The players on the team with the most postseason experience aren't even playing at the highest level. It's all the young guys, led by the Alien.

Michael Jordan made it to the postseason as a rookie but got swept by the legendary '80s Boston Celtics squad. He didn't make it out of the first round until his fourth season and didn't reach the conference finals until his fifth. Of course, Jordan's peak was what stamped him as the greatest, but we're just talking about getting the ball rolling early here.

Wemby is measuring up to the old and new greats

LeBron James made the playoffs in his third season but was eliminated in the second round after losing Game 7 to the Detroit Pistons. He followed that up with a trip to the NBA Finals in 2007, and we all know what happened after that. He was swept by Tim Duncan and the Spurs. It was still impressive to see him get there, though.

Most people will tell you MJ or Bron is the greatest of all time. I'd agree with that. They didn't have the right teammates to capitalize on their greatness early. Wemby does, but he also has the benefit of being something we've never seen.

NBC showed a graphic revealing the Timberwolves were only shooting 34% overall with Vic on the court, but he's also a total of five percentage points away from averaging 50/40/90 in his first playoffs at 22 years old in the games he's started and finished. If he and the Spurs knock off OKC and the East's representative to win a title, he'll have cleared a major hurdle to reaching all-time greatness.

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