It’s way too early to take any victory laps, but I’m definitely positioning myself on the starting blocks. In a recent stream, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer revealed that Victor Wembanyama is looking magnificent in some live runs in LA. A couple of weeks ago, NBA insider Marc Stein told us that Vic was looking “stellar” over on the West Side, and now we’re hearing more about how he looks.

“I’ve heard some really strong things about Victor Wembanyama playing in open runs in Los Angeles this summer. There’s a lot of optimism that the Spurs, behind Victor, are going to be a threat in the West.” – Jake Fischer

Let these comments serve as the first sign that my prediction of an insanely dominant Wembanyama season is coming to fruition. It just makes sense, considering the cloth he’s cut from. It’s the LeBron James fabric. The Michael Jordan material. When they come in with special numbers, laser-sharp focus, obvious dedication, and relentless ambition, they grow quickly. Vic fits that mold to a T.

Wembanyama’s breakout season will be one for the record books

You know, it’s actually a little funny when you think about what Victor’s trajectory could look like. There are some guys who get drafted, get better quickly, but hit their ceiling early. It’s unfortunate for everyone because you’re fooled into believing that this player is bound to hit another level, but they’ve already reached the top floor. Now we’re all disappointed.

When you look at Wembanyama’s numbers, he was already putting in heavy work. The man averaged 24 points, 11 rebounds, nearly four assists, four blocks, and a steal a game. If he were to just stay there for his entire career, he’s a Hall of Fame player. That was only year two for him, and so you wonder, “Man, just how good can this guy possibly get?” And you laugh.

Vic was robbed of almost half a year of basketball. Because of that, he lost out on what would have obviously been his Defensive Player of the Year award, All-NBA honors, and that affects his legacy. He’ll want to make a statement. After two years, he’s passed the sophomore slump, and now it’s just basketball. He’s learned a lot from his personal experiences in the league, time spent with veterans, coaches, etc.

Go back and look at what LeBron James and Michael Jordan did in their third seasons. And similar to the Alien, MJ was forced to miss a large chunk of his second year. He broke a bone in his foot and missed 64 games. The next season, he came back with vengeance and averaged 37 points, five boards, five assists, three steals, and 1.5 blocks per game for 82.

James averaged 31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, nearly two steals, and a block in his third season. Both players finished second in MVP voting those years, too. You can say that he’s not those guys, but neither were they, until they were. He’s been presented to us like he’s built the same as those guys, so that’s the standard I’m judging him by because he’s lived up to it thus far.

The difference is the rosters. Neither King James nor Air Jordan had a running mate like De’Aaron Fox, a reigning Rookie of the Year, and a team as deep as Vic in his third year. It’s the Western Conference, and it’s intense over on this side. I get it. But that’s like telling us that they have an army when we have a Hulk.