Entering his sophomore year, Victor Wembanyama, the ROTY last season, looks ready to take on whatever is thrown at him. He has been hitting the gym regularly, as portrayed by his latest bulked-up physique, and has more mass on his bones now. The runner-up DPOY, in his first season, now has a first-ballot Hall of Famer to help him and Coach Pop’s ambitions. Now with Chris Paul alongside him, the San Antonio Spurs will be looking for that playoff spot, won’t they?

But according to Shaquille O’Neal, there is another hooper in the NBA who may not have a resume as impressive as Victor Wembanyama but is better than him! Clearly, runner-up DPOY and unanimous Rookie of the Year aren’t enough for Big Diesel.

“Reggie, the reason why I put him at 31 is because there’s another big guy that has more skills than he does.” When probed about who is this mystery player, Shaq obviously proclaimed, “Bol Bol, Bol Bol, Bol Bol” on Inside the NBA, where Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Reggie Miller broke into laughter. Though here it felt like Shaq wanted everyone to have a good chuckle and wasn’t serious.

Big Diesel’s criteria for making it to his top 30 are team success and a player’s ability to be the difference between winning and losing, while consistently valuing being a winner across their criteria. He feels Victor Wembanyama can certainly affect the game in different ways than anyone else. But there is one complaint that Kenny Smith has for the Frenchman, “And so at this point, he’s not a great as great. A scorer as maybe a Giannis or maybe a, you know, LeBron.”

There is some bias here, though. Big Diesel has coached Bol Bol in high school. Therefore, he never misses an opportunity to back his protégé. But it is not all rosy between them. Shaq early this year on The Big Podcast with Shaq called Bol Bol “lazy as f—“.

He also said, “Bol Bol can do everything Wemby can do and even a little better… He’s just lazy. So I stand by my statement that Bol Bol was the first 7-ft-5 guy, to have those skills. And you know, whenever I open my mouth, I always try to open my mouth up with facts. Again, I’m not saying Bol Bol is better, just saying he was the first 7-ft-5 guy to do that with style. I just think, you know, Wemby wants it a little more.” Looks like the star Frenchman is clear of the Phoenix Suns‘ center.

Despised by each other once upon a time, now teamed up together with Victor Wembanyama

That’s right. The Spurs’ offseason signing CP3 was once despised by Gregg Popovich and the feeling was mutual. But what Paul brings to the table, not many players can. With him on the team now, the game is going to slow down for Wembanyama and become much easier. Wemby last season did not have much help from his teammates last season. The Spurs did not pair him with a point guard who could feed him the ball. An elite playmaker like CP3 can transform an offense, creating a more coordinated system that improves spacing and leads to higher-quality shots. Chris Paul has successfully achieved this with two of his last three teams.

We all saw in preseason CP3, who has been throwing alley ops to various NBA stars, finally threw it to the French big man. “If there’s one guy in this league who can throw them, it’s probably him,” said the French center after a preseason game.

The Spurs already have solid shooters in Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, and Julian Champagnie, but what they need is a playmaker who can break down defenses and create open looks. And this is where CP3 shines. Young guards like Jones and Castle could learn the nuances of playmaking, while the rest of the team would benefit from his laser-sharp, precise, well-timed passes.

The Spurs’ success will largely depend on Wembanyama’s growth, particularly on offense. In the 2023-24 season, he posted a positive 46.5% shooting from the field and 79.6% from the free-throw line. However, he’ll need to work on his perimeter shooting. He seems committed to that, having averaged 5.5 three-point attempts per game last season while shooting 32.5% from beyond the arc.

And if everything goes his way, who knows, maybe he’ll be in the MVP discussion. What do you think?