Richard Jefferson has claimed that LeBron James would be drafted at number two behind Victor Wembanyama if the two were placed in the same NBA Draft.
Victor Wembanyama has taken the NBA community by storm. The 18-year-old Frenchman is being lauded as the highest-rated freshman in the NBA draft since a certain LeBron James in 2003, as he has shown the American basketball community a glimpse of his incredible talent – by putting in a string of 35+ points performances in his first few games on American soil.
Wembanyama stands at 7 feet and 4 inches with a wingspan of nearly 8 feet, and has a profile that has rarely been seen in the NBA – a sheer monster who combines size, speed and agility. Wembanyama has also been called “unguardable” and has been rated as the favourite to be picked as the first overall pick in the upcoming Draft – much like a young LeBron James.
However, Richard Jefferson has gone one step further and has actually claimed that if Wembanyama was drafted alongside a young LeBron James, the former would be drafted at number one above the latter. Though the take immediately went viral on social media with fans debating on either side, the former NBA professional backed up his take with reasoning.
Why does Jefferson think Wembanyama would be drafted before a young James?
The former NBA professional and current analyst gave his reasons why he thinks the young Frenchman would be drafted at number one ahead of a young LeBron.
On the latest episode of NBA Today, Jefferson dug deep into Wembanyama’s game and highlighted the attributes of the 18 year old. Jefferson then addressed Zach Lowe who said that Wembanyama is the biggest prospect the NBA has seen since LeBron – and said that if LeBron showed up in the same class as Wembanyama, the latter would be drafted higher than James.
“I’m not saying he’s going to be better than LeBron James – I’m saying it right now. I remember LeBron 20 years ago – that player was 6’7”, this person is 7’4” – LeBron James would be number two if he was the exact same age coming into the exact same draft. That’s how crazy this kid is.”
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