Victor Wembanyama: TNT Sports experts rave about 'amazing' NBA rookie - 'He's lived up to expectations'

NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama has "lived up to expectations" during his first season in the league, according to ex-player Marc Jackson and TNT Sports pundit Julien Laurens.

Last summer's No. 1 draft pick has already made a mark in the NBA despite the San Antonio Spurs struggling to find a consistent rhythm this campaign.

The Frenchman made NBA history before the start of the new year by becoming the youngest player in NBA history to achieve a 20-point-20-rebound performance.

Wembanyama followed that up by recording the first triple-double of his NBA career on Wednesday in a win over the Detroit Pistons.

The youngster achieved the feat in just 21 minutes - the second fastest triple-double in NBA history in the shot clock era, only behind Russell Westbrook.

Wembanyama has also found his minutes on the court restricted during his debut season due to an ankle injury.

Speaking on TNT Sports' Preview show, former NBA star Jackson raved about Wembanyama's performances so far and said he has lived up to the hype.

"He's lived up to expectations, which is hard to do," he said. "Everybody wants instant gratification and I'm big on 'let the young guy develop, don't put too much on him yet'.

"I had this argument last year where I was like: 'He's going to be okay but he needs a few years to adjust.' No, no, no.

"What was telling to me was in his draft speech and his press conference when they interviewed him, she said 'You're a little slighter frame so you think you can get bigger?'

"He said: 'No, everybody else needs to get thinner'. That caught me. I like what he's thinking and he's proven.

"He has incredible skill to be so tall but his motor, his heart is what has me fascinated. His ability to play hard every single night is the most important thing for me."

TNT Sports pundit Laurens added: "I think he's been amazing. I think he's a little bit frustrated about the time he's spent on the court because there's clearly restricted minutes from [head coach Gregg] Popovich which you can understand.

"But to be fair, [Oklahoma City Thunder rookie] Chet Holmgren also plays 29-30 minutes per game and [Miami Heat rookie Jaime] Jaquez the same. So rookies this season tend to be in the same bracket as Victor.

"I think he would like to play more and sometimes I watch him in the seven minutes of the first quarter and he's back on the bench and I'm like 'Come on!'

"I find that a bit frustrating however, he's just below the 20 points mark, he gets three blocks per game, his defending is getting better and better and the skill set is just something we've never seen before."

Jackson and Laurens were previewing Thursday night's NBA regular-season match between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets which is taking place in Paris at the Accor Arena.

TNT Sports' live coverage of the game starts at 18:30 UK time.

It will be the third regular-season game to take place in the French capital, and the TNT Sports experts said they were looking forward to the battle between Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell and Brooklyn's Mikal Bridges.

"I look at Mikal Bridges coming from Phoenix where he was the second or third option and more of a defensive guy," Jackson said. "But when he got to the Nets, he said 'I'm a scorer as well', and he takes it personally to guard the other team's best scorer.

"Then I look at Donovan Mitchell who's a dynamic playmaker and scorer. He said: 'We in Paris... Oh I need to show out!'

"Now Mikal Bridges who's coming off a 43-point game, he's like 'I know Donovan Mitchell is going to try and go off, I'm on a big stage, I need to show that I'm a star'. It's games like this where stars come out to play.

"I look for Donovan Mitchell and Bridges to go at it."

Laurens added: "To a player like Mikal Bridges, he's going to really relish the opportunity to go at Donovan Mitchell. The Nets have lost 11 in 14 now so they need to start a good winning run and I think Paris, being the best city in the world, this is the perfect place.

"That's where your winning streak starts if you're the Nets."

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