I know the Victor hype train online is surging every day, but I couldn’t believe the takes from people saying he’s better at 18 than LeBron was. Of course we all suffer from recency bias, so if you aren’t old enough to remember the LeBron hype and performance at 18 here is a reminder.
– At 16 years old he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline “The Chosen One.” Until last week the bulk of America didn’t even know 18 year old Victor existed. Yes I know that would be different if lived in LA, but he doesn’t. He also wouldn’t be this hyped if he wasn’t 7’4. People are in love with his uniqueness.
-Rebook offered LeBron $115 million dollar deal before ever playing in the NBA. He ended up choosing Nike for 7 years 90 million. For reference Kobe Bryant in the same year was offered 5 years $45million. LeBron prior to stepping onto an NBA floor was offered twice as much money as the player coming off a three peat and many thought of as the next Jordan.
-He had signature Nike shoe the LeBron 1 before he played an NBA game.
– He had 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in his first NBA game still at 18. Keep me mind Victor is already 18 and will be 19 in 3 months.
– His debut also included 12 points in the first quarter. His command and comfort of the game was immediate.
– He put up these numbers on the road against the Sacramento Kings who went on to win 55 games and the 4 seed in the west that year.
-They lost the game and he is the first player interviewed lol.
Never thought I’d say these words, but the media is massively underrating 18 year old LeBron.
https://youtu.be/JLjH0rrNFeU
33 comments
This is why I don’t get how some people are saying victor is a better prospect
My theory is the NBA just wants to hype up victor as much as can so everyone wants to watch him as soon as he enters the league and there’s no better way to do that than have guys like RJ go on air and say stuff like that
People really forgotten how massive the hype was for lebron
I remember that game, it was a huge deal. Btw, if you have ticket to this LeBron’s first game, it is worth 40K – https://www.opencourt-basketball.com/lebron-james-nba-debut-game-ticket-auctioned-for-record-sum/
You can think LeBron was a better prospect but there’s so many dumb things that are being used to “prove” this. Public hype means fuck all. Somehow hype for one proves a point, and hype for the other proves delusion. History shows GMs take height. Yes, if he wasn’t 7’4 he wouldn’t be the same player genius. Prospect means potential, not current ability.
So many mind-numbing points regurgitated again and again on this topic. Bunch of respected names have said this and yet it’s not even a possibility according to people on here.
i think 2/3rds of this post is simply due to LeBron being an american an victor isnt
you can’t just wave off that Victor is 7’4 in the sport of basketball. Markus Howard is more skilled than Victor was at a younger age, but nobody gives af bc Markus Howard is 5’9
Vic on paper is a Lew Alcindor type prospect who was the most hyped prospect st that time, but he didn’t have mass media like LeBron did
i guess some people judge best prospects on actual potential to be a great player, others focus on hype
Why do people keep trying to use hype as an argument for LeBron being a better prospect?
So there’s two different ways to look at this.
1. Who was better at 18? Victor or LeBron
2. Who was a better NBA prospect, Victor or LeBron
These aren’t the same because, like you’ve pointed out, LeBron played in the NBA at 18 and Victor won’t do that.
So I think its safe to say that LeBron was better at 18. We have a small sample size of him playing ball at the highest level, averaging 20-5-5, and immediately making the Cavs too good to ever pair him with a legit second star (Thanks Boozer)
Alternatively, we can also still say that Victor is a better prospect. Yes he’s older, but his competition is leaps and bounds more impressive, and his height, gracefulness at his size, and skill set are what make him such a can’t-miss player, and those are all things that are hard to quantify and compare to another player.
I keep trying to tell people this. The victor hype is big, in the ball world. But people who didn’t even watch ball knew who Lebron was. Shit. Same with Zion. Dude was going viral at 16-17. Twitter people who had never touched a basketball had seen highlights of him in highschool.
I think you hit the nail on the head w his uniqueness. Remember the buzz in the crowd every time Taco Fall entered a game for the Celtics? That was his uniqueness that created that atmosphere.
Plus, say what you want about NBADraft.net and their track record, but they keep toggling between Victor and Scoot Henderson at the #1 spot.
No one ever doubted Lebron at the 1.
This post and some comments in here have some of the worst reasoning I’ve ever seen
Nike does the actual market research. I trust them. As long as Wembanyama hasnt signed as big time, I agree with you.
Yes most of you do all suffer from recency bias.
To be fair there was something else going on in 2003 that limited Kobe’s ability to sell sneakers.
Absolute the GOAT
what the hell does being on the cover of sports illustrated (a magazine most users here won’t pay money for) have to do with being a better player at 18 years old? You do nothing but mention hype around lebron and mention nothing if the two players skill sets. I’m sorry, isn’t this the place that talks about how much better talent is better than back in the day? Lebron at 18 had no jumpshot and wouldnt be as heralded in today’s league as a Wembanyama. Of course ppl are all about his uniqueness. He is a center(the most dominant NBA position historically), he can shoot out the gate, rim protect, run the floor, and potentially provide something the game has never seen. Lebron was basically just the next MJ. Now Vic may not end up as a better player but his skillset would get him picked number one in any draft(even one that has Lebron)
You know what is funny? The people out here defending Lebron as a hyped prospect are no different than the people defending the 90’s and its stars. You gave no argument about how Lebron as a player was just better….you resorted to magazine covers, signature shoes, and stats for an NBA game that the other guy hasn’t even had a chance to debut as a pro. This is an absolutely insecure post over something people shouldn’t be insecure about. You all going to protect Bron’s prospect status 20 years from now? Yea I bet you will.
Lebron was clearly a better prospect and anyone saying otherwise is braindead.
I think another major reason ppl are quick to forget is back then there was no social media. Lebron hype was all through old media plus his high school games were televised on espn. If Twitter or insta existed bsck then the hype would be just as wild as it is for Victor right now. Also Lebron definetly lived up to his hype and his longevity is unheard of. Victor is great but at 7’4 I’d be shocked if he can have the type of longevity of a Lebron most ppl that big catch the injury bug eventually
A lot of people were too young or not born when LeBron was in highschool. I was 7 or 8 when he was drafted. I didn’t fully comprehend the hype around him.
You’re spot on though. LeBron is the best prospect ever. Literally zero questions. Grown man body and command of the game at 17.
Wemby gonna win more than 4 rings in 20 years. Mark my words.
You know it was a long time ago when the kings won 55 games
18 year old Lebron died so 19 year old Lebron could be born.
Yep. I started following the NBA around 2001 so i’ve witnessed LeBron’s career from high school to now. LeBron was fucking HYPED as a prospect. I’ve never seen anything like it since then
The talent was so insanely obvious to everyone
You had analysts calling him the next Michael Jordan with Magic Johnson’s playmaking when he was 17 yrs old.
He had a high school game televised on ESPN! It was a national spectacle. The arena was sold out. That had never happened in history and hasn’t happened since
He was on the front cover of SI as you said.
I used to make mods for NBA Live 2001 and 2003 on PC, i made a player (face art + ratings etc) for LeBron in Live03 before he was even drafted and published it on the internet and people in that community downloaded the fuck out of it. Making faces for undrafted players was unheard of back then, that’s how popular LeBron was
Side note: Uhhhh HOLY SHIT my old website from 2002 is still online, and i found the LeBron mod i made: [Hahahahaha](https://www.angelfire.com/music5/barnsey/LeBronPreview1.2.jpg)
Anyway, i’ve never seen an NBA prospect get as much hype and attention as LeBron in my 20+ years of using the internet and following the NBA. Zion was maybe the closest one. Wiggins had some big hype in high school which came back to earth in college. Durant and Greg Oden had a bunch of hype. But all those guys had questions marks. With Lebron though everybody was convinced we were looking at a basketball prodigy
If LeBron and Victor were the same age in the same draft with the same hype, LeBron would still get taken 1st imo, people were that convinced he was the next coming. He had everything: marketability, other worldly athleticism, elite instincts not only for his age but by any standard, good personality, thrived under pressure, etc.
Nothing against Victor, he’s the most intriguing prospect i’ve maybe ever seen. But if we’re talking media hype and expectations LeBron was the absolute pinnacle
Damn he was good.
I don’t think Wemby is a better player than Lebron at age 18. But I can understand how some scouts may rate him as a better long-term prospect (based on his physical tools, shooting touch, defensive upside).
It’s perhaps subtle but there is a difference in that distinction. The best player at age 18 isn’t guaranteed to be the best player at age 25, or to have the best career.
Just based on probability alone it’s insanely unlikely Wemby is better than Lebron turned out to be. Especially factoring in injury risk. But that being said, it’s still possible to consider him a higher upside/better prospect at age 18.
Only time will tell.
Watch the more than a game documentary to see the hype around lebron when he was in high school
I was seven when Lebron was coming out of high school. His hype have still yet to be matched
What an embarrassing post.
I’m the same age as LeBron so I remember it well. He was insanely good as soon as he hit an NBA court. He could barely shoot at all and was still killing it
I love wembanyamania but he was nowhere close to the hype Lebron had. No other player in history had the hype Lebron had. The debates were “could he win a championship if he played in the NBA at 16”. It was crazy. Outside of my own games I never watched a high school basketball game besides Lebron.
Man reading this thread people are ready to call Wemby the next Lebron/Jordan. Can’t wait to see if his body holds strong
The comparison falls so short if you were around during 01-03 years and were paying attention to the NBA. Wembanyama doesn’t have the complete package like LeBron did. Not even close. LeBrons athleticism was unmatched. His ball handling, vertical, speed, court vision and passing were all well documented, approximately hyped and greater than Wembanyama’s.
There has never been a prospect as highly regarded as Lebron. This motherfucker got boy’s high school basketball on prime time on ESPN for fuck’s sake. His high school team was decked out in Nike shit and had signature shoes long before that was commonplace. He was like the real life version of the Jesus Shuttlesworth hype, but a version where literally EVERYTHING panned out perfectly as planned.
The media was looking for the next face of the league as MJ was on his way out and they made/got it with LeBron. Wade was pushed on us after the Kobe allegations. Just new guys after new guys for each generation.