Rich Eisen Show (DR) / San Antonio Spurs (DR)
By Joël Pütz | Sports journalist
A fine sleuth when it came to unearthing talent, Jerry West had obviously closely followed the NBA debut of Victor Wembanyama. While he left us a few hours ago, his pre-season comments about the Frenchman have resurfaced.
Where to start when talking about Jerry West? Because it’s a fact, the former fullback helped shape the NBA for no less than sixty years. First a legendary player under the colors of the Lakers with whom he played nine Finals for a title in 1972, he then reconverted as a manager. And the crazy thing is, he managed to achieve even greater success in this role.
Artisan of the Lakers Showtime version then at the origin of the duo Shaquille O’Neal – Kobe Bryant before relaunching the Grizzlies in distress, then being a consultant to the Warriors and the Clippers, “The Logo” had therefore remained very close to the ball orange. Having died a few hours ago, he leaves us with a number of memories, including his comments about Victor Wembanyama last summer, which have just resurfaced on social networks.
Jerry West raves about Victor Wembanyama in 2023
He’s one of those players who will probably become iconic. He is very talented. He can run, he can score three points. His biggest talent early in his career will undoubtedly be blocking shots. But for those who haven’t seen it, it is quite spectacular. And if you put a microphone in front of him, he’s fantastic. To me he is more than just a basketball player, he gives the league another positive voice.
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In his first Summer League game, he didn’t play up to his hype but none of these kids can do that at this age. But after that he went on TV and during the interview he said: “I didn’t have my best match but I will be better in the future”. He was very calm. We are moving from one generation to a new one, it will help create new players and new fans.
Let’s remember once again: when it comes to finding talent, Mr. Clutch knew how to do it. It was he who had detected the talent of a certain Kobe Bryant, to the point of setting up an exchange in the 1996 draft to bring the fullback to the Lakers. And once again, he was not wrong with Wemby since the latter ended up beating the competition during his rookie season. Clearly, he had lost none of his flair.
At a time when many people doubted Victor Wembanyama after his rough debut in Summer League, Jerry was absolutely right about who Wemby is as a basketball player but also as a person. His positive attitude and influence among the NBA media was refreshing.
Victor Wembanyama did not shine during his first Summer League match, but that did not prevent Jerry West from being impressed by the Spurs pivot, both by his attitude and his talent. We now hope that the Alien will fulfill the late Hall of Famer’s prophecy, by becoming the new standard bearer of the NBA.
