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LeBron James crowns Victor Wembanyama with a new nickname: 'He's more like an alien'


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The Alien. It has a real nice ring to it, doesn’t it? It feels like that’s what we’re going to be calling Victor Wembanyama from this point moving forward.

Obviously, he’d been on a lot of radars prior to Tuesday. But the basketball world tuned in when his Metro 92 team took on the G-League Ignite squad in Nevada and he did not disappoint.

Wembanyama dropped 37 points, including seven made 3-pointers, and had five spectacular blocks while looking like a guard wrapped up in Rudy Gobert’s body.

The kid is unreal. I told you after Tuesday’s game he’s a legitimate basketball alien who just does the impossible night after night.

But, look. You don’t have to take it from me. But LeBron James is saying the same thing now.

Reporters asked James about Wembanyama after the Lakers’ game on Wednesday night and it sounds like he just gave the French phenom a new nickname.

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"I think probably the same as everybody else thinks," James said. "Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien. No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and graceful as he is on the floor. … He’s for sure a generational talent. Hopefully, he continues to stay healthy. That’s the important thing for him.” 

There you have it, folks. Wembanyama is a basketball alien. And he has the admiration of LeBron James. Rightfully so — we’ve never quite seen anything like this.

As James said, health is going to need to be a priority for Wembanyama. Otherwise? He’s got the goods. He’s the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft and the race to tank to the bottom to get him is on.

Best of luck to your favorite team.