When the All-Star starters were announced, one name was conspicuously absent.
Victor Wembanyama was the fourth player in a three-man race for the Western Conference frontcourt spots, losing to Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the combined fan, player and media vote.
Wembanyama will surely be named to the team as a reserve, but he should have gotten a starter designation over both LeBron and KD. He’s been the best player out of the three — and it’s not particularly close.
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Victor Wembanyama stats vs. LeBron James and Kevin Durant
James is still a good player, but at Year 22, he is obviously far from his prime. The same goes for Durant, who is in Year 17. Both of them should be All-Star reserves until they retire, but their time starting is over. The new generation is ready to take over those prestigious spots.
All three players are having great years from a raw box score perspective. A case could be made for any of them based on how much you value scoring, passing, rebounds or general all-around play.
| 33 | 37 | 39 |
| 27.2 | 24.6 | 23.6 |
| 6.5 | 10.8 | 7.7 |
| 4.1 | 3.8 | 8.9 |
Those basic statistics don’t capture the defensive side of the floor, where Wembanyama has a massive edge. He is going to very deservedly win the Defensive Player of the Year award if he plays 65 games this season, while James and KD have fallen off to below-average defenders.
| 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| 1.4 | 4.0 | 0.6 |
| 51.2% | 49.5% | 66.4% |
| +0.1 (178th) | +3.1 (4th) | -0.6 (300th) |
| 23rd | 17th | 21st |
The Lakers have been embarrassing defensively, particularly in transition where the effort simply hasn’t been there. James has started to take plays off on that end of the floor, conserving his energy where he can. That approach has been necessary given how poorly the team plays without him, and he’s only missed three games this year. He still gets the occasional highlight chasedown block, but the consistency isn’t there anymore.
The Suns have also been a mess defensively, due to an aging roster and nonexistent center play. Durant hasn’t fallen off a cliff quite as much as James. He still provides weak side rim protection and can hold his own in most matchups, but he isn’t nearly at the same level as when he earned Defensive Player of the Year votes eight years ago.
While the Suns and Lakers cover for their stars, the Spurs are held up by theirs. There is very little defensive talent next to Wemby, but he has them around average because he is already one of the greatest rim protectors in league history.
The intimidation factor with Wemby is off the charts.
Nah, this is the craziest video I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/FdyonJviYz
— Spurs Culture (@SpursCulture) May 1, 2024
When you start to get into the super nerdy all-in-one impact stats, Wembanyama’s case becomes even more clear-cut. He’s ahead of all three by a mile.
| 3.2 (15th) | 5.3 (5th) | 2.8 (25th) |
| 3.0 (35th) | 5.8 (3rd) | 1.7 (62nd) |
| 3.2 (30th) | 7.2 (4th) | 5.4 (11th) |
| 1.1 (69th) | 3.7 (8th) | 1.8 (40th) |
The impact stats match the eye test pretty closely. James and KD are both still very good players, but neither is a top-five guy in the NBA anymore. Wembanyama is. His ability to dominate stretches of games on both ends of the floor is something only three or four players are capable of right now.
https://t.co/tRoTxjfpDN pic.twitter.com/E0KcPjvs2h
— WembyMuse (@Wemby_Muse) January 23, 2025
The All-Star game is more about providing what the fans want to see than All-NBA voting, which actually rewards the top players based on merit. The fans did vote James and KD higher than Wembanyama, so from that perspective it makes sense they were named a starter over him.
The three All-NBA teams at the end of the year are a different story. Wembanyama should make the West’s First Team ahead of James and KD. He should also be a starter for the next decade-plus, barring injury. His time is now.
