National Basketball Association

LeBron, not Wembanyama, was the biggest prospect ever, Green says

Updated May. 17, 2023 10:44 p.m. ET

The Victor Wembanyama hype is real and palpable.

And at 7 feet, 2 inches with a wingspan of 8 feet, a tool set that includes exquisite ball-handing skills, a free-flowing jump shot and springy athleticism, it's easy to see why.

Wembanyama is different, a prospect unlike any the game of basketball has seen before. And he's the sole reason why San Antonio Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt leaped out of his chair in excitement after the NBA's Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum revealed the team would own the draft's No. 1 pick.

San Antonio is all but guaranteed to select "Wemby" with their prized pick and land a man who they — and a significant portion of the basketball population — deem a generational player. Some have even called him the best and biggest prospect ever.

But Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green disagrees with that notion.

"There has been a lot of talk on is Wemby the best prospect since LeBron?," Green said this week on his podcast. "Some people say he’s the best prospect ever."

"Of course everyone's gonna say that now. But let's not forget how big of a prospect LeBron James was," he went on. "LeBron James was a phenom from 15 years old. LeBron James was the No. 1 pick as a 15-year-old. So, although we like to move on fast to the next thing, I will not go off the rail and say he's the best prospect ever. However, he's definitely the best prospect since Lebron, and probably the second-best prospect ever.

"Also, we tend to forget what kind of prospect LeBron was because he did the unthinkable. What we thought of him as a prospect he actually outlived, and outdid what we thought of him as a prospect. It's just very easy now in today's day and age to say ‘oh, he’s a better prospect than LeBron.' You forget how big of a prospect LeBron was because of how much he's done. But LeBron was huge, crazy!"

Green certainly made some valid points. James was being compared to the likes of Jordan, Bird and Chamberlain while he was still in his teens. His high school games became such hot tickets they eventually moved to college arenas. ESPN showed multiple broadcasts of his games. And he was the first high school prospect to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, doing so at just 18 years old.

Now, while Green won't push Wemby's status above James', he did acknowledge that only about 15 players would be safe from a trade in efforts to acquire him. Some of the names he mentioned: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić. Not even Draymond himself would be safe in his own mind.

That says a lot about a 19-year-old yet to play his first game in the Association.

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