Wemby mania: The NBA ‘extraterrestrial’ with arms almost as wide as a Sydney train

He is the most anticipated player drafted into the NBA since LeBron James and from fingertip to fingertip he measures 2.44m. If he were to stand in the centre of a Sydney train carriage he could almost touch both sides.

Victor Wembanyama, a 19-year-old from Le Chesnay in western Paris, was the No.1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft and played his first regular season game with the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday (AEDT). He is regarded as the most promising player to enter the league in 20 years. Even his shoe sponsor, Nike, has dubbed him “The Extraterrestrial”.

After averaging 19.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game – largely thanks to his unbelievable dimensions and athletic ability – during the pre-season, Wembanyama had 15 points and five rebounds in San Antonio’s season opener.

Not bad for a teenager in his first game in arguably the most athletic and talent-laden sporting league in the world.

His limbs are so long and gangly that they should be a hindrance, but the 7-foot-4 Frenchman glides around the court almost lazily, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

LeBron James, the last man to attract such fanfare when he made his NBA debut in 2003 and referred to as the ‘King’ of basketball, said he had never seen a player like him before.

“I’ve never seen, no one has ever seen, anyone as tall as he is, but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor,” James said.

“He’s for sure a generational talent and hopefully, he continues to stay healthy – that’s the most important [thing].”

Wembanyama’s arms are so long that his wingspan is larger than that of the largest bald eagles – 2.3 metres – and longer than the average length of a diamond python (2 metres).

In Thursday’s game, he swatted away a shot from Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving like he was flicking away a fly.

To prepare his team for Wembanyama’s athleticism, Mavericks player development coach God Shammgod wore paddles on his arms ahead of the team’s round one clash with the Spurs.

It’s not just his wingspan that is impressive. He’s the equal-tallest player in the NBA, alongside Boban Marjanovic from the Houston Rockets. The standard ceiling height in Australia is 2.4 metres, which means he would almost be bumping his head if he were to make a trip down under.

Doorways are a whole different problem.

Earlier this year, he was invited to throw the first pitch at the Yankees-Mariners game. In the palm of his massive hands the baseball looked like an egg he could easily crush.

Despite all the buzz and anticipation around the young Frenchman, he’s humble but ambitious, and has made it clear he plans to live up to the hype.

“I want to win as many titles as I can in the long run. I know it’s not something easy to do, many and most players have their career and never get to even the finals or to win [a] championship,” he said ahead of the season.

“It’s one of my biggest goals in life, so I know I’m going to reach this one day or the other.

“I’m dedicating the next I don’t know how many years in my life to risk this, and I’m ready to sacrifice anything.”

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