Photo: Victor Wembanyama Responds to 2020 Troll Post Saying He Won’t Dominate in NBA

There weren’t many doubters about Victor Wembanyama’s potential to succeed in the NBA, but he apparently kept some of the receipts from anyone skeptical of his ability.

The San Antonio Spurs star recently responded to a 2020 comment from someone who said he wouldn’t dominate in the NBA.

Wembanyama was unanimously voted 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and an NBA-best 3.6 blocks per game in 71 starts.

The Spurs didn’t win the lottery last year—they hit the NBA jackpot by getting the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. They added an instant superstar who arguably managed to exceed the sky-high expectations for him.

Wembanyama had the first triple-double with at least 10 blocks in a game since the 2020-21 season. He had a 40-20 game in the Spurs’ 130-126 win over the New York Knicks on March 29.

The original comment was posted after Wembanyama put up 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks in Nanterre 92’s 72-63 win over Le Havre as a 16-year-old.

This was around the time that Wembanyama’s status as a top NBA prospect really started to take off.

Mike Schmitz, who is currently working in the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office after being an NBA draft analyst, wrote a story for ESPN in February 2020 that called Wembanyama maybe the “best long-term prospect in the world.”

Wembanyama told Schmitz he was 7’2″ and 198 pounds with a 7’8″ wingspan at that point. He wound up growing two inches taller, added four inches to his wingspan and increased his weight to 230 pounds prior to the start of the 2023-24 NBA season.

In defense of the commenter from 2020, even though Wembanyama was on the NBA radar at that point, you would have to be a hardcore draft fan to be paying attention to a 16-year-old who had a dominant game in a French pro league.

If the commenter decided to stick with that original thought now that we have seen Wembanyama turn in one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history as a 20-year-old, that person should stop watching basketball because nothing about the sport will make them happy.