The NBA offseason, more often than not, is the time of the year when players hone their skills before the next campaign. We mean, we’ve all seen our favorites hoopers grind during the summer on the court or in the gym. However, San Antonio Spurs’ superstar Victor Wembanyama has had an unusual approach this offseason. From chess in France to Kung Fu in China, the towering center has stunned everyone with his fascinating approach to the offseason. However, this hasn’t stopped him from expressing his views on social media.
Recently, the French sensation cleared his stance against former NBA player Karl Malone through a tweet. It all started when the NBA’s official history X account posted a birthday wish for the former Jazz and Lakers forward. “Join us in wishing a Happy 62nd Birthday to 14x #NBAAllStar, 2x NBA MVP, and 75th Anniversary Team member… “The Mailman,” Karl Malone! #NBABDAY,” They captioned the tweet with a photo of The Mailman.
Well, this isn’t the first time the league’s official history account wished a former star on his special day. However, things took a rather dark turn when Wembanyama re-posted another user’s reply to the tweet. The initial reply included a small clip which featured a guy saying,
“What? On no, see that’s what we not better do. Police! Lock his a– up! Yes, you need to be under the jail, like what would she say, yeah, arrest him immediately.” If you haven’t already clocked it, this was not-so-subtle dig at Karl Malone’s alleged past by Victor Wembanyama.
Wemby retweeted a video implying that Karl Malone should be locked up pic.twitter.com/jKIWWsi46W
— jedi (@victorjediyama) July 25, 2025
The 21-year-old Spurs star did not seem happy about the NBA wishing Malone on his birthday due to his controversial past. However, this isn’t the first time someone has questioned Karl Malone’s involvement within the basketball world. Many journalists and fans alike have raised concerns about the league allowing the 62-year-old to be an active influence inside the league despite him not being the best representative of what basketball and the NBA stand for.
Will Victor Wembanyama’s clear stance bring about a change within the league? That remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs center has been compared with another superstar in the making.
Former NBA star Jeff Teague compares Victor Wembanyama to Paolo Banchero
Orlando Magic’s rising star, Paolo Banchero, recently inked a massive $287 million deal with the franchise. There’s no doubt that by doing so, the 22-year-old has firmly established himself as one of the best youngsters in the league. In fact, this has inspired former Milwaukee and Atlanta guard Jeff Teague to make a really big claim. Following this staggering deal, Teague took things up a notch by comparing Banchero’s superiority to Victor Wembanyama.
“I’m taking him over Wemby, I’m taking P5 over Wemby,” Teague stated. Although he faced some serious backlash from his colleagues after making this statement, the former NBA champ doubled down. “Right now, I’m taking him over Wemby, bro. The reason I say he’s better than Wemby is because Wemby ain’t really done nothing. We just like Wemby because he’s a freak. He’s a phenomenal player, but I’m just going to go with what I see.” He then explained.
Jan 31, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks over Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
While there’s no doubt that Paolo Banchero is a sensation in his own right, Victor Wembanaya is considered by many to be the best prospect to come into the league since LeBron James. In fact, you could go as far a saying that he’s even showcased that in his first two seasons in the NBA. The French center led the league in blocks and even made the All-NBA Defensive Team in just his rookie year, something that is enough to show how good he truly is.
Even though his second season got derailed by injuries, the 7-foot-4 center has already redefined the center position. However, even Banchero has been paving his own path to greatness in the league. The Orlando forward also missed significant time due to an injury, but returned to post some insane numbers. But does that make him a better player than Wembanyama? Probably not. While it’s hard to say who’s better right now, with both players yet to enter their primes, many would pick the Spurs star without thinking twice.
Who would you pick? Let us know down in the comments.
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