Paul Pierce Calls Victor Wembanyama the Most Complete Player in NBA History
Paul Pierce Calls Victor Wembanyama the Most Complete Player in NBA History
Paul Pierce said what a lot of people are thinking and nobody wants to say out loud yet.
After Victor Wembanyama’s 27-point, 17-rebound, five-assist, three-block performance in the Spurs’ Game 5 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, Pierce went on his podcast “No Fouls Given” and made a claim that would have sounded insane two years ago: Wembanyama is the most complete player the NBA has ever seen. Pierce named LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Nikola Jokic in the same breath as a 22-year-old in his third NBA season. And the uncomfortable truth is that Pierce might not be wrong.
Wembanyama shot 56.3 percent from the field in Game 5. He grabbed 17 rebounds. He blocked three shots. He handed out five assists. He did all of this at 7-foot-4 with a guard’s handle and a shooting range that extends well beyond the three-point line. There is no player in NBA history who has ever combined that height, that skill set, and that defensive dominance in a single package. The closest comparison is probably Hakeem Olajuwon, and even Olajuwon did not shoot threes or handle the ball the way Wembanyama does at 22.
This season, Wembanyama became the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history. He averaged over 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game while leading the Spurs to a playoff spot that nobody predicted before the season. San Antonio was supposed to be a development year. Instead, they are in the second round, and Wembanyama is the reason.
Pierce’s claim will draw pushback because Pierce’s claims always draw pushback. He has a history of hot takes that age poorly, and putting a 22-year-old above Jordan and LeBron in any category is the kind of statement that invites ridicule. But there is a difference between saying Wembanyama is the greatest player of all time, which Pierce did not say, and saying he is the most complete, which Pierce did say. The distinction matters. Completeness is about the range of things a player can do at an elite level. Jordan was not a 7-foot-4 rim protector. LeBron was not a unanimous DPOY. Jokic does not block three shots a game. Wembanyama does all of it, and he is 22.
He is not the greatest player in NBA history. He does not have the resume for that yet. But the toolkit is unlike anything the sport has ever produced, and anyone who watches him play knows it. Pierce just said it first.
The Spurs play Game 6 on Thursday. If Wembanyama keeps performing at this level, the conversation Pierce started is not going away. It is only getting louder.
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
