Victor Wembanyama is arguably the most interesting basketball player on the planet. The former No. 1 overall pick showcased his unbelievably high ceiling in 117 games across his first two seasons, including game-breaking defensive potential and a varied offensive skill set that is unprecedented for a player even approaching his size. Then, Wembanyama saw his second season cut short due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, and that put him out-of-sight and out-of-mind for at least some NBA observers.
Fortunately, the 21-year-old big man is fully healthy for the 2025-26 campaign and, after four games, he is clearly on the short list of early NBA MVP contenders. For one, Wembanyama has led the San Antonio Spurs to a 4-0 record, and team success is always helpful in shaping the reputation of star players. On the other side, Wembanyama is putting up comical statistical production, averaging 31.0 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 4.8 blocked shots per game while shooting 60.3 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.
In short, the league hasn't quite seen anything like Wembanyama, and you would perhaps assume that the universal praise he receives could be challenging when it comes to staying motivated. Well, that assumption would apparently be wrong, as Wembanyama is already drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan for the ability to create motivation, seemingly out of thin air.
Victor Wembanyama has put a chip on his enormous shoulders
This week, Marc Spears of Andscape appeared as a panelist on ESPN's NBA Today, and he suggested that Wembanyama's early-season surge could, at least in part, be motivated by Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren.
“They’ve been going back to under-20s, under-18s even," Spears said. "Chet got a championship. Wemby doesn’t have a championship. But I was told by somebody inside that room that Wemby is motivated by Chet. That Chet got a one-up on him in the championship.”
This might seem insane, especially given that no one is really suggesting that Holmgren and Wembanyama are on the same level. Make no mistake, Holmgren is a very good prospect and player who projects to be a major factor for a long time. Still, Wembanyama is something entirely different, but as Spears notes, these two do have a history that includes international competition, and they also matched up in the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year race.
To be clear, Wembanyama was the unanimous winner of the award, becoming only the sixth player in four decades to win the award in that dominant fashion. Still, it would appear that part of Wembanyama's greatness — in addition to his physical dominance — is the ability to put in the work and stay motivated.
As noted above, Jordan is and was famous for this particular trait, and Wembanyama has been on the record in a number of settings over the last few seasons about the sky-high aspirations he has for himself. In short, it appears from the outside as if Wembanyama has been doing anything he can — for many years — to be the best basketball player on the planet, and basically inventing comparisons that no one else is making is a way to keep the fire burning.
Jordan did this for years and years. While Wembanyama is just getting started, he has all the makings, both in ability and temperament, to be an all-time great if the stars align in proper fashion.