Victor Wembanyama's NBA Debut: Can He Live Up to the Hype?
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Victor Wembenyama, the coronation on draft night
00:06 for the guy we all knew was going to go number one overall
00:09 for the better part of the last two years.
00:11 Now, it's not about being the first overall selection
00:14 or this highly touted generational type talent.
00:17 It's about proving you can live up to the hype
00:19 on night number one in the NBA.
00:22 And there will be some reactions, of course.
00:24 We'll see if Wemby lives up to that sky high expectation
00:29 for the seven, four frame.
00:31 Wembenyama and his Spurs, a four point home underdog
00:35 against the Dallas Mavericks.
00:36 Kyrie Irving back with the Mavs,
00:39 of course, alongside Luka Doncic.
00:42 What do you want to see tonight, Donnie,
00:44 out of Victor Wembenyama and the Spurs
00:46 as they host the Mavs?
00:48 - I want a huge night here.
00:49 I want to get the party started
00:51 right from jump here on his career.
00:53 I don't need him to go out and be like,
00:54 "Hey, you know what?"
00:55 The narrative tomorrow, right?
00:56 Well, Ben, he did some good things, right?
00:58 Nine point seven rebounds, one block.
01:01 It was his first game, getting his feet wet,
01:03 and the cameras were flashing, and he was taking it all in.
01:05 And the post game press conference,
01:07 I don't want to see that here.
01:08 I want to see you come back,
01:08 and I want to see you hit your points prop here.
01:10 It's 18 and a half at the Fandu Sports Hall,
01:12 which means you're going to need around 20 points.
01:14 He's tall enough to get 10 rebounds.
01:16 A double double with 20 points is what I want to see tonight
01:20 because there are superstars on the opposite side here
01:22 on the Dallas Mavericks that are going to perform.
01:24 Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
01:26 Ben, how about this?
01:27 29 and a half points and 28 and a half points,
01:29 respectively, for their points props tonight
01:32 at the Fandu Sports Bowl.
01:33 So just to keep it short, there's a lot of games here.
01:35 I need a big performance out of Wemby here.
01:37 Don't give me that first game performance
01:39 that we saw over the summer
01:40 where we start to question a guy.
01:42 I want to see a superstar,
01:43 and I want to see him night one, Ben.
01:46 - Yeah, and those are the props tonight, Donny.
01:49 17 and a half points, six and a half rebounds,
01:53 two and a half blocks for him to record a double double,
01:56 plus 360.
01:58 Now he's 7'4", you would think six and a half rebounds
02:01 should be easy.
02:02 Do the odds know how to book Victor Wemby-Yama,
02:06 or will we get a better sample size
02:08 in this opening month of this NBA season?
02:11 Because he's 7'4", Donny, but he's not a center.
02:14 He's 7'4", but he's not quite a point guard.
02:16 He's a positionalist type player
02:19 that can do everything you would need
02:21 on the basketball floor.
02:22 How will he be utilized under Greg Popovich here
02:26 on his opening night?
02:28 I would look at the blocks, because, Donny,
02:30 you see the training and the preparation
02:31 he does defensively.
02:33 We have seen what he has done,
02:34 even against the best competition throughout this preseason.
02:37 That would be probably where I would think
02:39 you might have an edge
02:41 if you wanted a Wemby prop tonight.
02:43 Two and a half blocks looking at the over.
02:46 It's a pretty high bar to clear.
02:47 For instance, Anthony Davis had two blocks last night
02:50 for the Lakers, so is Victor Wemby-Yama going to have three?
02:54 Hey, I think that's where Wemby can get things going
02:57 on the defensive end.
02:58 And again, Donny, it's interesting to see
03:00 that four-point spread in my estimation.
03:02 Despite having Victor Wemby-Yama in San Antonio,
03:07 the Spurs have a win total of 28 and a half.
03:09 The Spurs were 22 and 60 last year in the regular season.
03:13 Again, I think San Antonio is going over 28 and a half wins,
03:17 but, Donny, Luka and Kyrie together,
03:20 if the Mavs are going to make any noise
03:21 in the Western Conference,
03:23 shouldn't that four-point spread be closer
03:25 to six, seven, or eight?
03:26 You would think it would be here,
03:28 and I know there's some question marks,
03:29 which is always wild to us.
03:30 Like, we already get started on an 82-game schedule.
03:32 We'll worry about injuries.
03:33 I know Luka Doncic yesterday reported coming back,
03:35 you know, maybe some injuries to be dealt with here,
03:38 which doesn't mean he's not going to play
03:39 the basketball game, but does that mean he's available
03:41 to play 38 to 40 minutes in this game, if need be?
03:44 So from my point of view, Kyrie Irving would probably
03:46 be a little bit more of a focus point
03:47 from a point-rebounding and assist prop,
03:49 if you're looking at that direction,
03:51 as opposed to Luka Doncic.
03:52 But you're right about that.
03:53 That's a pretty cheap price, you know,
03:54 an opening night for a team that we expect
03:56 to be in the playoffs against a team where it's like,
03:58 hey, we expect, well, Webanyama to be good,
04:00 and maybe we'll see what happens next year for the Spurs.
04:03 So we'll see how that plays out.
04:04 But opening night, crazy things certainly happen.
04:06 We do happen.
04:07 We certainly know that.
04:09 (upbeat music)
04:11 [MUSIC]