VICTOR Wembanyama stunned Nikola Jokic in Sunday’s NBA All-Star pregame locker room at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
The San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-3 center Wembanyama and the Denver Nuggets three-time MVP big man were part of a viral interaction – and some believe the sequence reminds them of LeBron James.
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Wembanyama and Jokic shared a locker room for the first time, as they were on NBA icon Chuck Barkley’s team in this year’s new All-Star Game format.
Before the start of the main event, the NBA posted a clip on social media of Jokic, who did not expect Wembanyama to bring out a book from his locker.
“You really brought a book? Jokic asked Wembanyama.
“Yeah, I read before every game,” Wembanayama confidently answered.
The camera then showed Jokic who put his hands to his eyes in astonishment over the second-year’s admission.
Social media users, meanwhile, were in hysterics over Wembanyama’s book-reading pregame ritual, with some even comparing the moment to LeBron who was spotted sitting in the locker room reading a Hunger Games book ahead of a playoff game in 2012.
“The big question is….. what book is Wemby reading?” one asked.
“he’s having a lebron moment,” another wrote.
“LeBron reading The Hunger Games really affected a whole generation,” a third said.
“Jokic funniest player in the league bro,” a fourth commented.
Some also compared Wembanyama’s reading habit to an NFL star’s recent actions during a game.
During a playoff game, Philadelphia wide receiver and Super Bowl champion AJ Brown was seen reading Jim Murphy’s book Inner Excellence on the sidelines.
“Bro tryna be AJ Brown,” one user added.
“Wemby is just emulating Super Bowl champion AJ Brown who reads before and DURING the game. That’s on a different level,” a second stated.
Time for LeBron to retire?
“At the end of the day, I hate to say it, but I believe this in my soul right now – I wish LeBron James would retire.
“Not because I don’t want to see more of LeBron James, not because I don’t appreciate LeBron James.
“But I honestly believe deep down inside, the more LeBron James continues to play the game of basketball, the more it’s going to hurt his legacy and the more it’s going to continue to hurt his GOAT argument.
“As long as he steps foot on that floor, every single season, there’s gonna expectations of him winning a championship.
“And when he don’t do that, we’re gonna be looking at him saying: ‘Well what happened now?'”
ESPN star Kendrick Perkins speaking on First Take about LeBron James’ future in the NBA
Shaquille O’Neal’s squad claimed victory in the tournament-style event that consisted of four teams of eight players each.
Wembanyama finished the game with a team-high 11 points and recorded the only block of the championship game.
Jon has won the MVP award in three of the past four seasons.
Entering the All-Star break, he has an average of 29.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.
As for Wembanyama, he is expected to be one of the best players of the next generation.
The 21-year-old has an average of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.8 blocks per contest.
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