Many have had fun with the game of comparisons to qualify the phenomenon Victor Wembanyama. Nicholas Batum chose one that was frightening to say the least, seeing in “Wemby” a Rudy Gobert with the wrist of Kristaps Porzingis, the speed of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the “handle” of a fullback!
In the podcast “This League Uncut” hosted by Marc Stein and Chris Haynes, the tricolor winger spoke about the result of the “lottery” which offered San Antonio the opportunity to choose Victor Wembanyama in the next Draft.
For Nicolas Batum, a part of fate played in this “lottery” which will propel “Wemby” to Spurs, where Tony Parker played for almost all of his NBA career. As if chance had done things well.
“The thing about the NBA is that it’s always story-telling. It’s like when Dirk Nowitzki was about to retire, there was a Luka Doncic who arrived at the Mavs. With Vic, we already knew last year that he was going to end up landing at Spurs ”, he launched, a bit mischievous. “I’m not saying the lottery is rigged, I’m not saying that. But the NBA is so crazy about this stuff, this storytelling. It’s all about fate in this league.”
Do better than TP, his huge challenge?
In San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama will be perfectly supervised by Gregg Popovich and his staff, and will therefore follow in the footsteps of Tony Parker, the best French player in history… before him?
“It’s the perfect spot. Tony left. Tony is the greatest French player of all time. If all goes well for him, he might just be next.”added Nicolas Batum. “He’s going to have to follow in Tony’s footsteps, after what Tony has done for his franchise, it’s a big challenge for him. Say, ‘Okay, Tony was a six-time All-Star, he’s got four rings and his jersey was retired. Do better than him. Do better than that”.
It now remains to know his ability to adapt to the requirements of the NBA and the time it will take for Victor Wembanyama to manage to dominate as much as he did in the LNB this season with Boulogne-Levallois. Remember that he has just won all the possible trophies in the French championship: MVP, best young player, best defender and selection in the five of the year!
“Of course he’s going to have to face Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ivica Zubac, Bam Adebayo, big guys. Yes, it will be hard for him to adapt. But give me the name of another 19-year-old player his size with that palette. And they’ve all been there. All ! Apart from Shaq, they’ve more or less all been there. So there will be physical adjustments for sure, but when he’s 22-23 it could be crazy.” “Batman” concluded.
| Nicholas Batum | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2008-09 | ORP | 79 | 18 | 44.6 | 36.9 | 80.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
| 2009-10 | ORP | 37 | 25 | 51.9 | 40.9 | 84.3 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 10.1 |
| 2010-11 | ORP | 80 | 32 | 45.5 | 34.5 | 84.1 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 12.4 |
| 2011-12 | ORP | 59 | 30 | 45.1 | 39.1 | 83.6 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 13.9 |
| 2012-13 | ORP | 73 | 38 | 42.3 | 37.2 | 84.8 | 1.3 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 14.3 |
| 2013-14 | ORP | 82 | 36 | 46.5 | 36.1 | 80.3 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 13.1 |
| 2014-15 | ORP | 71 | 34 | 40.0 | 32.4 | 85.7 | 0.9 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 9.4 |
| 2015-16 | CHA | 70 | 35 | 42.6 | 34.8 | 84.9 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 14.9 |
| 2016-17 | CHA | 77 | 34 | 40.3 | 33.3 | 85.6 | 0.6 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 15.1 |
| 2017-18 | CHA | 64 | 31 | 41.5 | 33.6 | 83.1 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| 2018-19 | CHA | 75 | 31 | 45.0 | 38.9 | 86.5 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 9.3 |
| 2019-20 | CHA | 22 | 23 | 34.6 | 28.6 | 90.0 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 3.6 |
| 2020-21 | LAKE | 67 | 27 | 46.4 | 40.4 | 82.8 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 8.1 |
| 2021-22 | LAKE | 59 | 25 | 46.3 | 40.0 | 65.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 8.3 |
| 2022-23 | LAKE | 78 | 22 | 42.0 | 39.1 | 70.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 6.1 |
| Total | 993 | 30 | 43.6 | 36.5 | 83.3 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 10.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
