Video: Lonzo Ball Says Victor Wembanyama Has Chance to Be NBA’s ‘Best Player Ever’

Lonzo Ball heaped praise upon San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama following his tremendous rookie season.

“He has a chance to be the best player ever, potentially,” the Chicago Bulls point guard said on his podcast, What an Experience. “I’ll say that right now”

Wembanyama showcased his long-range shooting, ball-handling, and shot-blocking prowess at 7’3″ throughout his first year in the NBA after he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He was unanimously voted as the 2024 Rookie of the Year for his efforts.

In 71 starts, the 20-year-old averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds to go along with a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game. Wembanyama also became the first rookie in NBA history to make the All-Defensive First Team.

He struggled a bit with his consistency from behind the arc but he still connected on 37.5 percent of his pull-up threes and canned 79.6 percent of his free throws, which bodes well for his future as a long-range shooter (via NBA.com).

Ball was likely able to get a closer look at Wembanyama compared to his fellow NBA players, as he wasn’t able to suit up during the 2023-24 season due to a knee issue that required multiple surgeries.

However, Ball is expected to make his long-awaited return to the court during the 2024-25 season (via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic).

The former No. 2 overall pick is far from the first opposing player to be amazed by Wembanyama’s future. During an anonymous survey of 136 NBA players conducted by The Athletic in April, Wembanyama was voted as the player they’d most want to build a team around moving forward. He narrowly edged out three-time MVP Nikola Jokić to win the vote.

While it may be extremely early to put the Spurs forward on track to enter the conversation as one of the greatest players in NBA history, his rookie season was still an impressive first step.