Chris Broussard: “If Wembanyama is AD, KD or Hakeem, that's a disappointment.”

[Drygon]

Chris Broussard on Victor Wembanyama: "If Wemby's career is like Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant or Hakeem, that's a disappointment. I expect him to be one of the best players ever — to have a career like LeBron, Jordan, Duncan, Shaq or Kareem."

https://twitter.com/FTFonFS1/status/1658961843749019648

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYfO_ipyIJc

[90sgoat]

I promise you that Wemby can almost only dissapoint with how insane the hype has been.

Imagine hyping a euro this much compared to Luka Doncic, who had 10x the accolades of Wemby.

[Real Men Wear Green]

The inherent disrespect for Dream in that statement should not go unchallenged. Very few players can be said to have led a team to a Championship without a second star. Olajuwon had been both the best offensive player as well as the best defensive player in the league and over the course of a series could outplay anyone in NBA history.

[Wally450]

I'm just hoping he can last 10 years in the league with his frame.

[Kblaze8855]

I read that in disgust last night and decided not to inflict it upon you all.

[ralph_i_el]

That's an insane statement. Having a better career than any of those guys by any measurable sense would mean that you're a top-7 player of all time. That's just not fair to expect. He has that potential of course, but there's so many things that have to go right.

[Johnny32]

he's just saying that's how high he is on him personally i assume.

[HoopologyPhD]

Got the attention he wanted, congrats

[tpols]

Shock factor media at it again. Get views and talk on it and get that money.

[ArbitraryWater]

casually grouping AD with Hakeem

[ImKobe]

Man I hate the modern media. So if he doesn't end up top 10 all-time he's a bust?

[Wardell Curry]

The point he's trying to make is that given the level of hype he has received, he should end up as a Mt. Rushmore level player.

Like it or not, expectations, realistic or unrealistic, have a strong impact on how we perceive things.

It's like the sequel to a really good movie receiving tons of hype, and then when release day comes it ends up being a good movie, but ultimately not living up to the first movie and no where near the hype. It makes the movie seem way worse than it actually is.

None of this will be Wembanyama's fault, and none of it is his fault right now.


Broussard has a valid point. It's just difficult to articulate without coming off as disrespectful to the players he mentioned.

Wembanyama could go on to be let's say ranked somewhere around 90 to 100 in NBA history and that is a hall of fame career for sure and better than most #1 picks throughout history but he would definitely be a bust in comparison to what people are saying he's going to be. Fair or not, that's what it is.

Kwame Brown had a solid NBA career and was better than most of the people in his draft class. But he didn't live up to expectations of a #1 pick, playing with Jordan, coming out of high school, the overall hype, and so people labeled him as a bust. This is what Broussard is trying to express.

[Wardell Curry]

But I don't think this guy is the most hyped prospect in NBA history. I think he's the most hyped prospect since people started regularly carrying smartphones, and that's part of what's going on.

LeBron was more hyped than this guy and so was Shaq.

[Real Men Wear Green]

It's possible to say that Wembanyama should be one of the greatest ever without disrespecting Olajuwon. The other two? For their team-hopping, fine, who cares. But Olajuwon basically won his first championship with a team they would have demanded a trade from (especially Durant, maybe AD gets a slight pass because NO never put a great team around him or even close).

[jlip]

While Broussatd did lump Hakeem with AD and KD in his statement, I don't necessarily think he was saying that they are Hakeem's equals or even on the same tier. I want to believe that he understands that Hakeem is greater than they are. Without hearing what Broussard said in context, as others have already mentioned, it could be that he was merely mentioning the names of great/ hall of fame caliber players, saying that being a legendary all time great, even a borderline top 10 all time player such as Hakeem, is not enough for Wembanyama, based on the hype. As flawed as it may be, he is saying that again, based on the hype, anything short of a Mt. Rushmore/ GOAT conversation career is underachieving. Sadly, that what modern b-ball conversation has devolved into.

[SouBeachTalents]

Will people really never understand that the ultimate goal of these people in the 24/7 news cycle is to garner as many ratings and clicks as possible, so of course they’re gonna say some stupid shit like this that they couldn’t possibly believe. You making this thread is exactly what they wanted.

[SlimReaper]

^^this

[HighFlyer23]

Media shock value statements

[Phoenix]

Like Hakeem isn't one of the 8-12 greatest ever and likely doubles his ring count if Sampson stayed healthy or he had access to Clyde a few seasons earlier.

But as said above, these are strategically worded for for forum threads, twitter, and First take/Undisputed/First things first/etc etc etc etc.

[Manny98]

I honestly don't get the hype for

He will most likely be a slightly better version of Porzingis but that's about it.

[Lakers Legend#32]

I agree considering all the hype he is getting.

[Spurs m8]

Amazing anyone still watches or listens to all these clowns

[SaltyMeatballs]

Fire Chris Broussard immediately