Arenas believes Wemby will dominate every stat category in the NBA by the 2026-27 season.
Victor Wembanyama's rookie season has been nothing short of extraordinary. The 7'4" center averaged 21.4 points, 10. 6 rebounds and led the league in blocks at 3.6 per game, all while averaging less than 30 minutes per game.
To put his brilliance into perspective, the Frenchman logged better stats than rookie LeBron James did despite playing less than 10 minutes per game than him. Acknowledging this surreal feat, Gilbert Arenas recently predicted on his podcast that within the next few seasons, the Spurs' rising star could potentially lead the league in almost all statistical categories to begin his era of dominance in the NBA.
Arenas on Wemby's ceiling
On the latest episode of 'Gils Arena' podcast, Agent Zero emphasized the significance of Wembanayma averaging a double-double despite playing the second-highest minutes on the San Antonio Spurs.
He went so far as to proclaim that by the 26-27 season, Victor could have the same level of dominance in the league as Michael Jordan did in the 1987-88 season, when His Airness won both the MVP and the DPOY honors.
"If he would've played 25 minutes? He would've had 28 (points per game)," Arenas said. "That '26-27 season, man, that's gonna be All-Wemby dawg. That's gonna be blocks, steals, rebounds. He gonna have a Jordan' 87-88 year."
During that year, the six-time champion led the league in scoring (35 points per game) and steals (3.2 per game). That year, MJ was recognized around the league as the next big thing, which was confirmed by his achieving a rare feat—winning DPOY and MVP in the same season.
Wembanyama was already among the top 10 in rebounds and second in defensive rating. Within the top 30 for scoring, all while averaging fewer than 30 minutes per game and being in the most vulnerable stage of his career, it is not difficult to imagine he leads the league in almost all categories in the future.
While Wemby's full development is still a few seasons away, the upcoming one will be crucial in determining if he can lead his team, much like young MJ did as a sophomore.
In his rookie campaign, the Frenchman was already a vital cog for the Spurs. Now, with the presence of veteran Chris Paul to mentor him, it will be intriguing to see if he can guide the Spurs to the playoffs, much like Jordan led the Bulls till the first round of the playoffs in his sophomore season.
Although San Antonio has done a remarkable job of carefully developing Wembanyama and will likely continue his patient approach, the bigger question is whether the 7'4" center will be able to maintain the same level of dominance as more players become habitual to his presence and his skill set in the NBA.
