The 7-foot-3-inch Frenchman has been classified as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James. Though, he didn’t have the best NBA Summer League Debut. A future Hall-of-Famer who recently retired, Carmelo Anthony, had some advice for Victor Wembanyama following said debut.
Lucas Peltier/USA Today Sports/Reuters LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 03: Los Angeles Lakers Forward Carmelo Anthony (7) looks on during a NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers on March 3, 2022 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire) Focus on Sport/Getty Images and Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images
Unfortunately, the Frenchman struggled immensely in his first game with the San Antonio Spurs, only managing to make two of his 13 shots. In his playing day, Anthony was a scoring machine. The 10-time NBA All-Star had an impressive career, averaging 22.5 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. He’s currently the ninth-leading scorer in NBA history. Despite not winning an NBA championship, Antony is a respected leader amongst players in the NBA.
“Just hoop and enjoy Vegas,” Anthony said.
That’s some simple advice, for the average person it may be easier said than done. Though, when you are a talented player like Victor Wembanyama you cherish the advice that Carmelo Anthony gives you.
We’ve seen future stars start out slow in their summer league debuts. In 2007, the No. 2 overall pick for the Seattle SuperSonics went 5-for-17 in his first game.
With that being said, one game won’t determine how Wembanyama’s career is going to go. Anthony also isn’t the only NBA Legend to offer the rookie some advice.
“As of today, I’m just a rookie,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t have one game in me and I just got everything to learn. So the truth was yeah, I didn’t know what I was doing and for the next games I’m probably not going to know what I’m doing, too.”
Wembanyama sat courtside with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar prior to Wemby’s first game. Afterward, he had this to say:
“You have things to learn but as you see he’s an intelligent young man, he’ll get it done,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
Coming from a guy who held the NBA scoring record for nearly 40 years, that’s an incredible honor to know he believes in you. Kareem held that record up until this last season when LeBron broke it.
It appears that the advice worked as Wembanyama finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds in his second outing of the summer. He did so on 9-for-14 from the field.
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