5. Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs
2024 NBA Rank: 11
Wembanyama certainly looks like he’s ready to roll. The San Antonio Spurs recently visited Ingram Tom Moore High School, an area hit hard by devastating floods that swept through the Texas Hill Country back in July, and Wembanyama led the team through an abbreviated workout in front of the students. Tossing the basketball off the backboard, Wembanyama jumped to catch it before putting it through his legs and slamming home a thunderous dunk that whipped the spectators into a frenzy. Wembanyama made it look easy.
Biggest question: Will Wembanyama’s whirlwind summer pay dividends this season?
It should. After sitting out the final 30 games of last season because of deep vein thrombosis, Wembanyama received a clean bill of health in July during a busy summer in which the 21-year-old trained for 10 days at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China, and worked with Hall of Fame big men Kevin Garnett and Hakeem Olajuwon. It’s a safe bet that Wembanyama’s work with Garnett will instill a little more aggressiveness into the Frenchman’s game, while Olajuwon likely schooled the third-year Spur in the sweet footwork and post moves that made the 12-time All-Star virtually unstoppable for 18 seasons in the NBA. Wembanyama believes that some of the moves performed during his Kung Fu training in China mimic what he’ll be doing on the court. — (Michael C.) Wright
Signature stat: Victor Wembanyama became the 3rd player with a 5×5 game, a 10-block game and a 50-point game in the same season since blocks/steals became official in 1973-74, joining 1992-93 David Robinson and 1989-90 Hakeem Olajuwon.
Fantasy projection: 24.7 PTS, 11.5 REB, 4.0 BLK