NBA Comparison: Ralph Sampson

Strengths: A generational talent … The sky is the limit and the reality… Has rare potential for a center in today’s NBA … Amazing size for his position with unprecedented length, including a wingspan measured at 8′ feet… Remarkable coordination for a player of his size, length and age… Surprisingly agile and fluid for a human being his size … A jaw dropping physical specimen athlete with hand eye coordination and dexterity … Runs the floor like a deer… Has long strides and covers a lot of ground and finishes plays with solid body control … Has bulked up the last couple of years, body shows that he can add muscle easily without losing mobility and agility … Good basketball I.Q… Versatile player, can be used in either front court position… Makes at least a few “WOW” plays on both ends of the floor in every game… He is a walking mismatch … Good, strong dunker, likes to dunk everything and his length makes him very hard to stop around the rim … Has also some finesse in his game … Has a perimeter player’s game in a center’s body… Moves well without the ball… Very good ball handler for a player of his size … Can put the ball on the floor and attack closeouts … Fluid and smooth shooting mechanics both in spot up and off the dribble situations … Can shoot over just about everyone thanks to his size, length and high shooting release… Good – and improving – in spot up situations… A real threat in the Pick and Pop … Has been used in off screen situations (taking a pin down or a stagger screen) with encouraging results … Can be the passer in handoffs, but he can also be on the receiving end in handoffs and shoot immediately … Willing screener on and off the ball … Improving in Pick and Roll situations as the screener … He is a point guard’s dream as a lob catcher, having the ability to reach highs that few players can … Has good footwork in the post, with a turnaround jumper in his arsenal, where he turns on his right shoulder … Can turn from either shoulder when posting up, but has a preference turning to his right shoulder… An above average passer… Has some moments where he has shown potential as a passer… Very good in transition, fills the lanes… Can even start the break after his own rebound thanks to his ball handling … The epitome of a rim protector … Good shot blocker… Alters a lot of defensive possessions thanks to his size and athleticism … Fills the passing lanes and makes steals … Has active hands on defense … Can come from the weakside and block shots … Good lateral quickness and nice mobility in his hips help him when he switches on perimeter players … A good Pick and Roll defender when his team decides to play flat, soft hedge or under… Good help defender… Am above average defensive rebounder… Very good offensive rebounder…

Weaknesses: He has bulked up considerably, but he still needs to add some muscle to his frame… On the other hand, bulking up too much could add strain to his lower extremities, and a case could be made that his long term basketball health will benefit from staying fairly lean … His huge body, considering past players with his size and the health of all large bigmen, will always be a concern and curtails his ceiling to an extent … Already has had three minor injuries that resulted in him missing playing time and sitting out a number of weeks (a fracture in his fibula, a fracture in one of his fingers and a shoulder contusion)… Has to add strength to his torso without losing mobility… As impressive as his long term ceiling is, the center position has been downgraded with just a small handful of impactful ones in today’s NBA (AD, Jokic, Embiid, and Gobert) … Should improve his stamina so that he can be effective in bigger stretches… Can disappear from time to time and not be that engaged on offense because he doesn’t fully understand yet how to control and maintain his energy… He is a bit of a streaky shooter at this stage… Inconsistent free throw shooter over the past few seasons … Has problems against strong, physical opponents who can get under him and move him away from the basket… His high center of gravity prevents him from establishing position in the post at this point … Strong opponents with size can front him in the post and not let him receive the ball … Can become more assertive getting to the rim. Rarely forces his way to the basket in post ups… Can be prone to forcing up off balance shots against physical opponents … He faces up and settles for mid-range shots more often than he should against mismatches in the post … He has a tendency to turn predominantly to his right shoulder when posting up, which makes him predictable … Should add some moves when posting up, like an up and under … Rarely passes when he is posting up, doesn’t really read quick double teams… Catch and drive game needs some work… Should improve as a passer on the move… He doesn’t always roll hard to the basket in Pick and Roll actions as the screener… At times he tries to do too much and commits turnovers… Has to improve his upper body so that he can absorb contact at the rim better… Doesn’t draw as many fouls as someone would think for a player with his skillset and size… Telegraphs passes at time… He could add a Short Roll to his arsenal after he sets his screens so he could add more options to his game either as a passer, or as a shooter… Doesn’t always box out on defense and depends on his length… Has the tendency to jump to fakes… Foul prone, can commit one or two bad fouls in a game… Can be too focused on the ball while defending on the weakside and lose track of his man … At times he is too far away from his match up, which can cause him problems when defending stretch bigs… Bulky, physical post players can create problems for him …

Outlook: Victor Wembanyama is probably the most hyped teenager since LeBron James… The secret about him was out way before he became eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft and blew up for 37 points including 7 three pointers against G-League Ignite… The French prospect is a generational talent with huge potential to be impactful from the center position … Scouts who are old enough will inevitably compare him with Ralph Sampson, one of the most unique players in NBA history … Wembanyama is a 7-4 giant who can handle the ball like a perimeter player, with fluid shooting mechanics, good Pick n’ Roll and Pick n’ Pop concepts, who can either Post Up or Face Up the basket and can also protect the rim and hold his ground on the perimeter is he has too… He definitely possesses flaws… His thin frame and injury history are the most glaring concerns… With that said, it’s almost impossible to not think the player that he can be… If Wembanyama stays healthy, then the sky’s the limit for him …

Stefanos Makris 10/14/22