After 20 years of waiting, the NBA finally ushered in the birth of a new king, and the Spurs' rookie Wembanyama surpassed James in almost all statistics in the first season of his career, which seemed to herald the dawn of a new era. Although the Spurs did not make the playoffs due to their poor record, Wembanyama's performance was eye-catching, and it was only a matter of time before they entered the playoffs and even the Spurs Super League revived.
The Spurs are only 22-60 this season, the second-to-last in the West, but for Mr. Popovich, it is more important than anything to acquire a future All-Star (Hall of Fame) player who can match Duncan. Wembanyama has played in 71 games this season, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals in 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range. During his rookie season, James played in 79 games for the Cavaliers, averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 0.7 blocks and 1.6 steals in 39.5 minutes per game, while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range.
From the point of view of data, Wembanyama's various statistics far exceed James at the same time, with an average of 10 minutes less playing time than James, points, rebounds, steals, blocks, and shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage and other statistics have surpassed James, and even crushing posture. It's a horrible set of stats, which equates to one less quarter per game than James, but is more efficient than James, scores more points than James, and is more efficient defensively than James. Wembanyama won the block title in his rookie season with an average of 3.6 blocks per game, which is something that most players in the NBA dare not imagine.
Wembanyama has a height of 2.24 meters, but his arm span has reached an astonishing 2.44 meters, his static talent is amazing, his athletic talent is also the top in the league, his movement speed and physical flexibility are not like an interior player, more like an early alphabet brother, and Wembanyama's talent is stronger than the alphabet brother, and in time it will be one of the best players in this league. In the past 20 years in the NBA, there are few champions after James who can get close to him, Howard's peak time is too short, Oden, Rose fell early due to injury, and the thick eyebrows are also glass physiques, and other champions such as Wiggins, Simmons, and Zion Williams have not played at the level that people expect, and only Wembanyama is likely to reach or exceed James's level.
Of course, Wembanyama still has a long way to go if he wants to match or even surpass James, who is still one of the best players in the league by playing in 71 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.3 minutes per game. The NBA has never lacked talented players, what is lacking is a player like James who has been steadily output for 20 years, and if Wembanyama does not retire after 20 years, let's look at his achievements.