Wow. I mean, what else can you say after watching that game between Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson on Tuesday? The game felt historic. That game felt like watching the next generational stars of this sport facing off for the first time. David Locke, Radio voice of the Utah Jazz and host of the Locked on Jazz podcast compared it to watching Larry Bird face off with Magic Johnson. Honestly? That is not hyperbole if you watched these two face off on Tuesday.
The 2023 NBA Draft is still eight months away, slated for late June, the preparation for NBA organizations stated a long time ago. The league might witness an all-time tanking season with teams racing to the bottom by design, even after being hit with just an ounce of adversity during the regular season no matter the preseason expectation for the organization. Henderson and Wembanyama put on full display why that is the right move.
The Oklahoma City Thunder sent decision-makers to watch Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson on Tuesday with Sam Presti in attendance in Vegas
Victor Wembanyama went for 37 points and five blocks while knocking down seven (7) three-pointers in the contest. Scoot Henderson would not be outdone, coming away with the win and just as impressive of a stat line. The explosive guard finished with 28 points, five rebounds, and dishing out nine assists with his dazzling playmaking.
While these two players are the clear-cut top of the 2023 NBA Draft class, the rest of the player pool runs deep. From talking to people in and around the league, I have heard as many as eight names that people think can be franchise-altering. For more clarification on that, it has been described that those players could be considered top-three players in a championship organization.
For Wembanyama and Henderson, those two are truly generational talents in every sense of the phrase. Presti got an up-close look at each of them to tip off the draft cycle.