Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals made it abundantly clear that we are clearly in the Victor Wembanyama era in the NBA.
Few players have been as impressive at such a young age as he has been. To qualify it as just impressive, though, is underselling what he’s doing. Dominating a playoff game against the defending champions at just 22 years old is rarefied air.
One of the few players with a relatable trajectory that early in their career was Kobe Bryant. At the age of 22, Bryant was also dominating
the playoffs, including a 48-point, 16-rebound performance to sweep the Kings in the second round before a 45-point, 10-rebound showing in Game 1 of the conference finals.
It makes sense, then, that Wemby and his team are interested in Kobe’s mindset at that age. On Wednesday, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN wrote a feature on Wemby, which included an anecdote about Wemby’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, reaching out to Rob Pelinka, who was Kobe’s agent for the vast majority of his career.
Last April, he called Los Angeles Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, who represented Kobe Bryant for much of his career, and scheduled a lunch.
The reason was simple.
“The way they think is different,” Ndiaye told ESPN. “The way they play, the way they stretch themselves. Just their curiosity. How they study and watch things. They’re both very creative on how to solve a problem.”
Wemby and those around him were looking for ways to improve physically without simply bulking up. To the surprise of no one, Pelinka was very willing to talk and shared plenty of stories about Kobe.
Ndiaye nodded along as Pelinka recounted these stories, both men delighting in the intellectual curiosity each of their star clients brought to their craft.
“I wanted to understand how Kobe did things,” Ndiaye told ESPN. “So that we could learn from him. Victor is not like anybody else. We have to be creative to build programs that are unique to him.”
If there’s any criticism about Pelinka divulging stories and wisdom to a conference rival, remember Kobe’s final tweet after watching LeBron James pass him on the all-time scoring list.
It’s awesome to see a young player ascending as Wemby is currently doing. Even if it comes with a tinge of fear that the Lakers will have to go through him to win a title, continuing to move the game forward remains the goal.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
