Bodog Builds the Ultimate NBA Player
Who’s better: MJ, or LeBron? It’s the most burning question in basketball. Except we’ve already solved that debate by calling Michael Jordan and LeBron James the GOATs of their respective generations, following in the footsteps of George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The next generation will be even better. Provided he stays healthy and motivated enough to carve out a long career with the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama could be the one who takes the throne from King James. Wembanyama has a rare combination of gifts that we simply haven’t seen before in an NBA player; it’s as if Dr. Frankenstein took the best attributes from the top stars of yesteryear and created the perfect basketball monster.
Here’s an even scarier thought: What if the Spurs made their entire team out of Victor Wembanyamas? The Toronto Raptors may have been on the forefront of positionless basketball with “Vision 6-9,” but the real future for this sport isn’t five switchable wings – it’s five switchable centres. Vision 7-3, if you will.
Not that Wembanyama is the Ultimate NBA Player. We’re all human, and Wemby has his limits just like the rest of us; he “floats” just a little, as many European players do, and his outside shot still needs some work. But those are things the Spurs and head coach Gregg Popovich can drill into the league’s best prospect since LeBron.
For the real Ultimate NBA Player here at Bodog, you need each of the following attributes, as best exemplified by the star players most associated with those winning traits:
Frame: LeBron James
James had all the earmarks of a future star coming out of high school in Akron, Ohio, but he really became a beast when he filled out to his full 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds. Imagine if James were scaled up to 7-foot-3 and somewhere around 325. Yikes.
We’re not including height as a specific attribute here – obviously, the taller the better – and we’re not saying that Wembanyama has the body type to fill out the same way as James. But the young Frenchman can certainly try. Diet and exercise are the keys to getting the most out of those incredible gifts.
Focus: Michael Jordan
If winning isn’t your No. 1 focus in basketball, you’ve got a problem. Jordan’s killer instinct led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships; he wasn’t afraid to step away from the game when he found his focus slipping, either.
There’s a somewhat disturbing edge to Jordan’s mental game that Wembanyama will probably avoid, given their different personalities; Kobe Bryant was a more willing student of the dark arts, and Draymond Green has proven himself just as capable as Jordan of punching his own teammate. This is where our Ultimate NBA Coach would step in and use their Jedi mind powers to keep Wemby’s focus pure.
Vision: Steve Nash
The best Canadian NBA player of all-time – at least until Shai Gilgeous-Alexander takes that title – also had the best court vision of anyone who’s played the game. The way he threaded passes to his teammates with the Phoenix Suns from 2004 to 2012 was nothing short of exquisite. If only Nash had the Larry O’B. on his mantle next to those two MVP awards.
This is one of the many attributes that had NBA scouts drooling over Wembanyama. It’s going to take thousands more hours in the gym before Wemby has honed his craft to the same degree as Nash; until then, the Spurs are going to enjoy the way their new talisman distributes the ball.
Durability: Robert Parish
The best ability is availability. This “talent” is really a combination of other attributes, including frame, and it takes a little luck to stay away from the myriad injuries that come with contact sports – even one with as little contact as NBA basketball. Having said that, Parish rarely sat out a game in his first 20 seasons before finishing his career at age 43 coming off the bench here and there as the third or fourth centre for the 1996-97 Bulls.
Naturally, our Ultimate NBA Player is impervious to all pain and will never stop playing basketball, ever. James is an athletic freak at age 38, but he’s missed a lot of games the past three years. Given his slighter frame, Wembanyama would be better advised playing a style closer to Parish’s if he wants to be the one to dethrone James 20 years or so down the road.
Footwork: Hakeem Olajuwon
We could have put Bryant here, but again, Olajuwon is a better case study for both Wembanyama and our even more impressive Ultimate Player. For the longest time, it was taken for granted that big men were clumsy, especially once you get up into the 7-foot range. Olajuwon used the soccer skills he developed as a kid playing net in Nigeria and made it work on the court, most notably with his trademark “Dream Shake” fake-pivot combo.
Popovich and the Spurs have to be pleased with Wembanyama’s footwork at this point. His interior offense is already several steps ahead of most big men – Rudy Gobert comes easily to mind. Don’t be surprised if Wemby ends up on Dancing With the Stars one of these years.
Hops: Vince Carter
Speaking of which, Clyde Drexler was the first NBA player on that show, and he’s still one of the greatest leapers this sport has ever seen, but nothing compares to Vince Carter. While guys like Drexler and Darrell “Dr. Dunkenstein” Griffith may have had a bit more vertical, Carter was able to do more with the gifts he was given – and he was still clearing 40 inches at age 38.
You don’t necessarily need all those hops when you’re 7-foot-3. However, Wembanyama does have some spring in his step, which you’ll see when he’s fighting inside and making that second and third leap to grab rebounds and/or dunk on some fools. Throw it down, big man.
Intelligence: Tim Duncan
It’s a shame Duncan isn’t still with the Spurs as a full-time assistant – he’d be the perfect mentor for Wembanyama. It’s still going to happen; reports from San Antonio have Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all pitching in to help Coach Pop work with his latest franchise player.
Duncan’s basketball IQ is unquestioned, but it’s his no-nonsense leadership approach that has us feeling very good about our Ultimate NBA Player’s chances of success. Even the fact that Duncan decided to throw off the shackles of full-time coaching for more of an advisory role shows his intelligence, as Popovich himself has pointed out.
Raw Power: Shaquille O’Neal
It’s simply asking too much of Wembanyama to move bodies around in the paint the way O’Neal used to – but not for our Ultimate NBA Player. We’ve already given them LeBron’s frame; now they’ve got O’Neal’s sheer power, enough to bring down even today’s reinforced stanchions with a thunderous slam-dunk.
Note that we’re not talking strength here – that will come in a moment – but power, which is more about energy. Wembanyama can leverage his 7-foot-3 frame to generate a lot more power than you might expect given his slightness, and he will fill out to some degree, but for now, Popovich and the Spurs might want to let Jeremy Sochan (6-foot-9, 230 pounds) do the dirty work at centre while Wemby plays the 4-spot.
Accuracy: Adrian Dantley
Shooting is the most important thing in basketball, and no one did it better than Adrian Dantley. He dominated the early ‘80s with four consecutive seasons of more than 30 points per game, but Dantley did it in relative obscurity for the Utah Jazz. If only the Los Angeles Lakers hadn’t traded him for Spencer Haywood in 1979.
Our Ultimate NBA Player is so accurate, they only miss every once in a while on purpose, so you can’t tell they’re super-human. Wembanyama is going to seem that way sometimes. His shot-making is off the charts for a big man, at least until you extend him beyond the perimeter, but again, that’s something Wemby can and probably will develop over time.
Speed: Nate “Tiny” Archibald
It doesn’t seem quite right to have anyone but Speedy Claxton here, but we did say our Ultimate Player would be made entirely of stars. Claxton’s career was hampered by knee injuries; Tiny Archibald was never the same after he tore his Achilles in 1977, but his speed was on full display in 1972-73, when he led the league with 34.0 points and 11.4 assists per game for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
Archibald was also 6-foot-1, which is why they called him “Tiny” (for that matter, Claxton was 5-foot-11). Wembanyama naturally takes more time to unravel, but once he gets in motion, watch out.
Versatility: Magic Johnson
Long before the Raptors were hoarding 6-foot-9 wings, the Lakers had Magic Johnson. As a rookie combo guard in 1979-80, and already the tallest point guard in league history, Johnson filled in at centre for the injured Kareem during the NBA Finals and led the Lakers to victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Raptors fans are hoping that Scottie Barnes will continue to develop into a Magic-type player. As for Wembanyama, he has a diverse array of skills that would be welcome anywhere on the court, which is the whole idea these days. Why would you limit yourself to only one position if you’re going to be the Ultimate NBA Player?
Creativity: Stephen Curry
If you were unhappy to see Adrian Dantley’s name earlier instead of Steph Curry’s, we’ve got you covered. Curry has changed the game of basketball by taking shots that people simply wouldn’t have thought about taking before. Who knew that shooting from 35 feet out, before your defender had a chance to close the gap, could be more rewarding than shooting from just behind the arc?
Curry’s creativity shines through in other ways, like when he takes unusual routes to find open spaces the way Steve Nash used to. This is something you’re going to see a lot from Wembanyama; thanks in part to his Euro upbringing, he’s had the freedom to develop his craft in creative ways, rather than see his game limited to a generic big-man template.
Strength: Wilt Chamberlain
As we said earlier, strength and power aren’t the same; strength is about force, and Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain was arguably the most forceful player the NBA has ever seen. We can’t verify Chamberlain’s claim that he once fought off a mountain lion with his bare hands, but according to Johnny Kerr, Chamberlain once threw down a dunk so ferocious that it broke Kerr’s toe after it went through the hoop.
Chamberlain’s strength eventually forced the league to change its rules, widening the lane from six to 12 feet and making offensive goaltending a penalty. That’ll make it harder for Wembanyama to match Chamberlain’s single-game record of 100 points scored. He’ll probably never have the same heft as Chamberlain, who played at around 7-foot-1 and 275 pounds, so our Ultimate Player will have no problem keeping Wemby in check.
Intangibles: Jerry West
This is bound to ruffle a few feathers – but then again, that was West’s M.O. throughout his playing and administrative career. They didn’t call him “Mr. Clutch” for nothing; West only won the single title with the Lakers back in 1971-72, but it wasn’t because he wilted when the pressure was on. West led the entire league in Win Shares for three straight years between 1967-68 and 1969-70. Then he won eight more rings after he retired, using his savvy to recruit and develop other players with that elusive clutch gene.
Is “clutch” even a thing? Probably, and given the way he led Metropolitans 82 to the French league title in 2022, Wembanyama might soon find his name on the list of Jerry West Trophy winners as the NBA Clutch Player of the Year. But we’ll still take our Bodog Ultimate NBA Player ahead of Wemby when we’re picking teams at the schoolyard.
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