1) Victor Wembanyama
The only current NBA player with a potentially brighter future than Anthony Edwards is non-other than the player with the most draft hype since LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama. It was a tale of two halves for the San Antonio Spurs' latest generational talent.
Wemby was impressive enough through the end of 2023, but it was once 2024 came around, he continued to improve with each passing landmark date. Averaging 18.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game through Dec. 31, Wemby went on to average 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.9 blocks from Jan. 1 on.
After the All-Star game, his averages increased to 23.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 4.5 blocks through the end of the season. Those numbers have only been duplicated across an entire season twice since the league began counting blocks and the only player to do so is one Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Even beyond the counting stats, Wembanyama's impact was among the top in the entire league despite his NBA inexperience. Since 2000, only three rookies have finished among the top 10 of Player Impact Estimated (PIE). Those three are Blake Griffin (2011), Joel Embiid (2016), and Victor Wembanyama. That's not a bad collection of guys to be in the same conversation with.
Wembanyama recently displayed his winning ability on the largest stage, leading his native France to a finals matchup against Team USA. While he was ultimately cut short of his gold medal goal, he will undoubtedly be a fixture both in the NBA and Olympic
At 20 years of age with all the potential in the world, no player is better positioned to be the future face of the NBA than Victor Wembanyama.