Author of thunderous debuts on the NBA courts, Victor Wembanyama is already regularly compared to true legends of the league.

For example, an American celebrity compared his mentality to that well-known… of Kobe Bryant.

He did not wait for the 2023 Draft and his official arrival on the North American circuit to be the subject of speeches and predictions of the most flattering.

Simply based on his feats achieved in Betclic ÉLITE, many experts were making Victor Wembanyama a future very big name in basketball.

Comments that the young French center has so far only confirmed on the NBA courts.

Victor Wembanyama even “crazier” than Kobe Bryant?!
Because of his profile as a revolutionary big man, Wembanyama often hears his name compared to those of other iconic players of the same morphotype, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

More generally, it has even become common to see him compared to timeless stars like Kobe Bryant.

This is for example what Michael Rubin did in an anecdote told on Primetime Breakz:

Michael Rubin: Victor was supposed to play the Knicks in New York, so I invited him to my place for dinner. I suggested he come around 7:30-8pm, but he said, “No, let’s do it at 6pm instead.” Of course, I had appointments at that time, but it was Victor, so I obviously changed my schedule.

He was there 10 minutes early, we had a great dinner and talked about all the things he was doing.

Read also
When Kobe got off his chest during his stay in France: “To this day, I still regret it…

After a while, (Tom) Brady calls me! He lives about 2 minutes from my house so I said to him, “Oh, Victor is here, do you want to come by?” So, Tommy shows up, they talk for 30 minutes and suddenly, Victor looks at his watch.

It must have been 8:50 p.m. and he said, “Hey, I have to go, it’s time for me to go to bed!” No other NBA player would have left Brady after 30 minutes to go to bed!

All this because he absolutely wanted to read his book and get to bed on time. That sums up Victor well.

A meticulousness that did not prevent the two stars of American sports from exchanging for long minutes, nor from posing all smiles side by side for a viral photo.

That said, this sudden and unexpected departure of the French prodigy apparently surprised Michael Rubin.

This, while the latter knows a thing or two about champion mentality, he who after all rubbed shoulders with a certain Kobe:

Michael Rubin: Listen, I knew Kob’ well, but Victor is even more focused on his goals and strict in his way of behaving. It’s pretty crazy.

Renowned for his Mamba Mentality, Kobe Bryant rarely let distractions affect his basketball schedule.

A characteristic he shares with Victor Wembanyama, who would even push this character trait even further.