Victor Wembanyama is emerging as the most talked-about and hyped-up NBA draft prospect over the past few years. This would make sense, considering that the french basketball player seems to tower or everyone he is put on the court with.
In fact, Wemby looks so large that one could argue that he is bigger than Shaquille O’Neal. NBA fans will remember that the Los Angeles Lakers legend was considered by many to be the most dominant force that basketball had seen, simply because of his unreal size and explosiveness.
While it is very difficult to compare Victor’s and Shaq’s explosiveness, especially at this early stage in Wemby’s career, it is certainly possible to compare their heights. Let us take a closer look at how both these players measure up to each other.
Victor Wembanyama is one inch taller than Shaquille O’Neal
It turns out that Wemby and O’Neal are almost identical in terms of height. Fans of the Diesel will undoubtedly be aware that he is listed at 2.16m. That equates to 7ft 1in. On the other hand, Wemby is listed at 2.19, which is a few millimeters taller than 7’2.
While this certainly means Victor has a very slight advantage, it does not indicate how their games will compare. After all, both of them are fundamentally very different players. Wemby represents the modern player and can shoot an efficient jump shot and a three-pointer.
Parallely, Shaq didn’t really utilize the jump shot. He would simply post up players and proceed to attempt dunking both the ball and his opponent in the basket. Even tho Wembanyama will play the same position as Shaq did, he will struggle to find the same amount of success dominating.
This is simply because of the weight difference between Shaquille O’Neal and Victor Wembanyama. At this absolute prime, O’Neal weighed roughly around 325 lbs. That is a whopping 147 kg. Wemby is only 225 lbs, a much lighter 104 kilograms.
Therefore, he will be unable to use his brute size and strength to dominate in the league, like Shaq once did. In all fairness to the other NBA centers in the league, it is unlikely for Wembanyama to guard or score easily over Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo. At least, when compared to the other players he has gone up against so far in his young career.
In any case, Wemby has kept the NBA media buzzing about the next big star to enter the league. In fact, his play has led to some analysts claiming that NBA teams are now tanking and losing games in order to secure him in the NBA draft.