JJ Redick on why he is so high on Victor Wembanyama
There have been European players that were drafted as the number picks before, but it’s very rare to have a player from Europe who is a consensus number one pick a year before the draft.
Even Luka Doncic, who was highly regarded as the best talent in the Old Content, was not a lock as the top pick in the NBA Draft. Actually, two players – Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III – were drafted before him.
There is no doubt that Victor Wembanyama will be drafted by the Spurs as the first pick next week. Former NBA player JJ Redick compared the French prodigy to Doncic with how dominant he is in Europe, saying that that makes him expect great things from him in the NBA.
“A lot of times European players that get drafted in the 10 to 20, early second-round range, they don’t actually play a lot. They don’t have a lot of production,” Redick said on The Old Man & The Three podcast. “A lot of times you’re gauging the upside, you’re gauging the potential of what you’ve seen in 11 minutes of action in a EuroLeague game.
“The difference with [Victor] Wembanyama, it harkens back to Luka [Doncic] in that he played in an A-league, one of the Top 5 professional leagues in the world – played in A-league and he dominated. He produced and he did it at 19 years old.
“Luka started playing for Real Madrid at 16, by 17 he was a full-time starter. Dominated the following year, EuroLeague MVP. That’s not normal for kids that young to completely dominate the way that Luka did and the way that Wembanyama did, which is one of the reasons I’m so high on him beyond the physical tools and the skillset. The guy has been in big games, and he’s produced.”
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