Chet Holmgren vs Victor Wembanyama Was Both Awesome And A Potential Look Into The Future Of The NBA

There was a time when Chet Holmgren was talked about as being a franchise changing prospect. His skill level paired with his size, he looked like a cheat code on both ends of the floor while at Gonzaga. Teams were fighting over each other to tank for him. Unfortunately, an injury playing in a Pro Am robbed us of his rookie season and we never got to see what OKC looked like with him in the mix.

Not soon after we had Victor Wembanyama. Not just a franchise altering prospect, but a generational one. The most hyped prospect since LeBron. Like Chet, he also looks like a two way cheat code whenever he's on the floor. We saw him for a brief moment in Vegas, but he was shut down after just two games.

Fast forward to tonight, and we finally got to not only see these two wildly hyped prospects play in their first (fake) NBA game, we got to see them face off against each other. 

Wemby vs Chet. 

#2 pick vs #1 pick.

Basketball unicorn vs Basketball unicorn.

So how did it look? 

Awesome. And when I say awesome, I mean awesome

None of this makes any goddamn sense. I can't remember the last time I was watching a basketball game and every two seconds there's a player who routinely just makes you shake your head, unable to comprehend how the hell they are able to do things like this. These are guards, wings, and bigs all in one. They can be used as creators, screeners, on ball, off ball, all while giving you elite rim protection. There was a play where Wemby got completely turned around on a drive and still blocked it anyway because of course he did. It's clear that players may think they've gotten him beat off the dribble and in reality have not actually beaten him in the slightest. He can get to shots you didn't think were possible.

The best part of their performance was the fact that you could tell they were going after each other. I think we should all be getting on board with that. Let's have a good old fashioned rivalry between these two for the next 10+ years. That seems like a pretty nice way to spend a decade if you ask me. 

With Chet, it looks like the year around the Thunder last year has done him well. He's still skinny, but he looks like a guy whose been in an NBA program for a year. For an OKC team looking to make a leap this year, adding in a two way player like this is potentially a very big deal.

With Wemby, I mean what more is there to say? Every time he's been given the opportunity to show us he's for real, he does it and then some. First it were those friendly games in Vegas, then it was Summer League, now preseason. I think it's safe to say this will still be the case when the real games start in a few weeks. He's backed up his hype at every turn, which is very, very exciting.

Of course, while it's true you should take everything you see in preseason with a grain of salt, I don't think you have to when it comes to these two guys. They're legit, and for all we know it could be the Thunder and Spurs running the West before you know it.