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Wemby enters the draft as one of the most hyped prospects ever, and it’s not hard to see why. His skill, touch, and shooting at his height are truly ridiculous and make for plenty of eye-grabbing plays. While I agree that there’s plenty of reason to be excited about Wembanyama’s potential, I think there exist some extremely legitimate concerns about him as a prospect that could limit his ceiling to a place far lower than most people place it.

Specifically, I think Wemby’s biggest problem (aside from injury risk) is that he is not a wing. He is a big man. Big men have certain responsibilities on the court that they cannot get away from if they want to have playoff success no matter how flashy or skilled they are. Big men need to set hard screens, roll aggressively to the rim (even when not being rewarded), fight in the trenches for rebounds, run and seal players in transition, punish mismatches, and overall be extremely physical and competitive. To be frank, I don’t think Wemby has it in him to do this. He doesn’t have the frame for it, nor does it seem he has the desire for it, with him saying that he expects to be the focal point of the offense and does not want to be the center. Will he be happy and focused while not getting 10 post-ups a game? Will he be one to demand more touches 15 feet away from the rim, even if it’s not the most efficient way to win?

If Wemby gets what he wants, what does he end up looking like as a player? From my evaluation, it’ll be something ugly. To understand why, let me explain my thoughts on his actual abilities. First, as an offensive player: what can Wemby do? Shoot: I think that Wemby will end up being a good shooter. He has never shot more than 30% from 3 in his career, but his FT% indicators (.828 on 6.3 attempts this year) are really good. However, from watching his game, I don’t like his catch-and-shoot tendencies or form at all. He doesn’t seem comfortable catching, rising, and releasing, especially compared to his form on pull-ups. The pull-ups are cool and all, but that’s not a sustainable form of offense for anyone. I would feel much better if this was PART of his game instead of the main attraction considering how pessimistic I am about the rest of his offensive game. Post up: I absolutely hate his tendencies in the post. In France, he often posted up on much smaller players on the wings and middle of the court. But instead of backing these guys all the way to the rim, I saw him way too often shooting OVER them. When facing up, to his credit, he does sometimes try to drive from a face-up position, but he has a terrible habit of picking up his dribble in this action way too early, not letting him fully capitalize on the advantage his size gives him. He simply doesn’t handle the contact well, way too often being compliant with getting bumped away from the rim and toward the 3-point line. His center of gravity being so high also does present some troubling long-term indicators of potential growth. He’s a willing passer, but that’s still a developing part of the game, of course. I just don’t think this will be an efficient part of his game, but I fear it’s going to be a part that’s going to be emphasized the moment he’ll come into the league. This could be fine for development, but if it never goes the way the Spurs want it to, I worry that this might allow him to develop some habits that aren’t conducive to efficient offense or winning basketball. Off-ball: This is probably the part of his game that could be best. Wemby, of course, is HUGE. His catch radius on lobs is incredible and makes him a threat anywhere even close to the rim. His potential for rolling gravity is astounding. If he wanted to roll hard and consistently, he could easily grab two toward the rim every time. But will he do so if he’s not being rewarded? We saw what happened with Ayton when he wasn’t getting the post-ups he wanted. Will similar happen to Wemby? Beyond that, I think he has some obvious offensive rebounding potential. However, a lot more goes into rebounding than just being tall. It, again, requires consistent and unrelenting effort. I’m not sure if he has the stamina, frame, or will to crash the boards again and again for 36+ minutes a game.

So why is he still at #1? Honestly, the main reason is that this draft class isn’t that good. I believe both his peak and median outcome transcend any other player in this class largely because Wemby’s mobility and long ass frame will make him a monstrous defender. I could easily see him impacting that side of the ball at basically every level possible. His rim protection skills are fantastic, he can block or deter shots straight up or as a help defender. He’s switchable enough to be a 4 and play a switching form of defense as his length will scare A LOT of guards away. In terms of pick-and-roll defense, I can see him being effective in any coverage as his length will allow him to be aggressive. If he puts the effort into it, which I think he will, I don’t see many worlds where Wemby isn’t quickly an all-league level defender. And that’s extremely valuable.

So, while I think the “generational” tag for Wemby is unearned, his defensive potential, combined with his size, touch, skills, and age make him a truly tantalizing talent that teams chased for a reason. He’s the no-brainer #1 selection, but that probably wouldn’t be the case in many draft classes of the past.