Hot takes on Victor Wembanyama have become a sub-genre of NBA content all on their own, and the latest entry argues the Spurs centre is on the brink of taking the No. 1 spot in the league outright.
In a short reaction posted late in March, basketball creator Benard Johnson watched a clip of Wembanyama in action and reached the same conclusion that has become common across NBA Twitter, podcasts and television panels.
"This man Wim might be the best player in the world by next year," Johnson said. "Damn near."
The comment is the kind of soundbite that lives or dies on context. It came as part of a longer reaction in which Johnson kept circling back to a single problem defenders face when they meet Wembanyama: there is no clean answer.
"Oh my god. Here you come again," Johnson said as Wembanyama executed a jab-step move. "Oh, he too big. To be this big, his bag go crazy. Jab step."
The sentiment is statistically defensible. Wembanyama was named the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season — the first unanimous DPOY in league history. He is a Spurs cornerstone with multiple All-Star nods, top-five MVP placement and a defensive impact that is reshaping how teams build half-court possessions against San Antonio.
Benard Johnson's framing — best player in the world, possibly by next year — would have sounded reckless even one season ago. Today it sits in a long line of similar takes from analysts including Nick Wright and Kendrick Perkins.
The reactor's emphasis on Wembanyama's offensive bag — the jab step, the handle, the way a 7-foot-4 frame can still pull off guard-style hesitation moves — speaks to the part of his game that has come furthest in 2025-26. The defensive monstering was already in place. The scoring polish, footwork and jump-shot reliability are what changed.
It also explains why Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has been comfortable letting Wembanyama play through stretches that would have been unthinkable for a 20-year-old big man. The trust Wembanyama has earned in San Antonio's offensive sets is starting to look like the trust James Harden once had with Mike D'Antoni's Rockets — total ball, total decision-making, total responsibility.
For reaction creators like Johnson, that is what makes the Wembanyama clips bankable: every possession could become the highlight. Every defender becomes a setup for the punchline. And every season, someone records themselves watching it and arrives at the same conclusion.
"He too big," Johnson said. "His bag go crazy."
With Wembanyama returning from a concussion to travel with the Spurs into the playoffs and chase a deep run, the prediction is set to be tested in real time. If 2026 has been the year Wembanyama proved he can stay healthy enough to win a DPOY in a 65-game minimum world, 2027 is shaping up to be the year analysts decide whether he is, in fact, the best player on the planet.
