Rudy Gobert believes the sky is the limit for Victor Wembanyama.
"I think he's going to be very unique," the Minnesota Timberwolves center and fellow Frenchman told TMZ Sports of Wembanyama, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. "I don't think there's any ceiling on what he can do. I'm very excited to see how he's going to change the game."
Wembanyama is the most-hyped draft prospect to come to the NBA since LeBron James in 2003. The Frenchman is a generational combination of size (7'3"), skill and athleticism, offering a high-level guard skill set in a Gobert-like frame in the middle of the defense.
Hype surrounding Wembanyama is so high heading into the 2023 draft that the NBA reached a deal to make all of his games available to stream on its app. Wembanyama plays for the Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A. He's been an LNB All-Star and won the Pro A Best Young Player award each of the last two seasons.
While there is still an air of mystery about Wembanyama because did not play college basketball, his brief trip to the United States last year was a rousing success.
Wembanyama dropped 37 points in a loss to the G League Ignite last October in his first head-to-head battle against Scoot Henderson, the presumptive No. 2 pick in June's draft. Regardless of the game's result, everyone came away blown away by Wembanyama's brilliance.
"He can affect the game in so many different ways and whoever gets him: This guy is going to change his franchise forever," Magic Johnson told Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win. "The hype is real. He will probably make an impact like LeBron did when he first came into the league. This young man is special. ... He's a league-changer and a franchise-changer. I don't know if we've seen someone with this type of talent in a long time be that young."
Wembanyama's agents have already projected him to land a $100 million shoe contract before he plays his first game.
James holds the record for the largest shoe contract given out to a rookie, signing a seven-year, $90 million deal with Nike before the start of his NBA career.