The ongoing NBA season has introduced a bounty of fresh talent in the form of new players. Amongst these field of impressive athletes, one name seems to be standing out more prominently than the others: 20-year-old San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. The French prodigy has been establishing an impressive rookie campaign, having averaged 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Each day is bringing with it a new record that sets a benchmark for future aspiring players to get through.

The Spurs recently faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers. While the Spurs ended up losing the game by a score of 123-118, the game once again helped to bring 20-year-old rookie Victor Wembanyama into the spotlight. Delivering a standout performance in his very first game against the Lakers held in Los Angeles, the young prodigy created history by achieving the rare “5 by 5” feat by scoring 5 steals, 5 blocks, 8 assists, 27 points, and 10 rebounds. Not only is he the first NBA player in 5 years to do so, he is also the youngest. If all of that wasn’t enough, Wembanyama ended up creating the record within the first 31 minutes of his game.

The achievement helped to create a moment of unity, as Lakers legend LeBron James came out to send his congratulations to Wembanyama. Taking to his official X account, James wrote “That kid is SPECIAL!!”, accompanied by a smiling alien emoji. The 39-year-old NBA star also took to his official Instagram account to share a picture of the duo, captioning the same with no words but two emojis.

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It’s not every day that someone receives a direct praise from one of the most recognizable basketball players ever. If you’re being praised by King James himself, then you must be doing something right.

 LeBron James believes that Victor Wembanyama is “special”

LeBron James praise for Victor Wembanyama was nothing short of heartwarming. Fans of the Lakers icon, however, would be quite aware of the fact that this is not the first time that the 39-year-old has chosen to praise the young prodigy.

Prior to their faceoff, LeBron made an appearance during the All-Star Weekend held a few days ago. During the same, he gave his thoughts on the young rookie and how the Spurs and Gregg Popovich can provide him with the perfect opportunity to grow and evolve.

“I’ve been asked about Victor before, and I just think he’s going to continue to get better and better and better and better the more games he plays,” said James. “He has one of the greatest coaches in basketball history in Coach Pop, and he’s going to learn it the right way by just being around Pop”.

James complimented Wembanyama’s skills at just 19 and wondered “what he’s going to look like at 21, 22”. Just like the Lakers legend, however, the rest of us will also have to wait and see what other surprises does the Spurs star has in store for us.