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"Without a fu—g doubt" - Patrick Beverley agrees with ESPN's ranking of Victor Wembanyama
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- "Without a fu—g doubt" - Patrick Beverley agrees with ESPN's ranking of Victor Wembanyama
ESPN's 2025-26 player rankings — the league's Top 100 players based on projected performance for the upcoming season — continue to generate buzz in the basketball community.
One of the more controversial players on the list is San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama , who was ranked fifth overall, behind only Nikola Jokic , Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo . Many say Wembanyama's name is too high on the list, considering he is coming off an injury. But Patrick Beverley disagrees.
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"The Top 100?" said Beverley on his podcast. "Five is cool…He different. He is a different player than everyone else. He was supposed to get Defensive Player of the Year twice already. You have never seen anything like him. Right now, he's Top 5, Top 6 player in the NBA without a doubt. Without a fu—g doubt."
Wemby is the heavy 2026 DPOY favorite
The hype around Wembanyama has always been very high. Dubbed as the most highly-touted NBA prospect since LeBron James , he was drafted first overall by the Spurs in 2024, and he immediately made an impact, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game. Not only did Wembanyama win Rookie of the Year honors, but he also finished second behind fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert in the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year voting.
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Last season, Wembanyama led the NBA in blocks again, averaging 3.8 per contest. He also improved his averages to 24.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest. However, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in late February and missed the entire season. Ultimately, he did not qualify for the season-ending awards due to the lack of games played.
Heading to the 2025-26 season, the Frenchman is once again a heavy favorite to win the DPOY award. With two seasons under his belt, he should be more acclimated to the NBA game than before, and if he can stay healthy, there's no question he can be a Top 5 player in the league next season, especially with all the opportunities he has playing for the Spurs.
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Beverley is optimistic about Spurs
While there are high expectations for Wembanyama next season, the same can't be said about his team. The Spurs are in the bottom half of the league in terms of championship odds and are a long shot to win it all next season. Basketball Reference's Playoff Probabilities Report says that the Spurs will finish 13th in the West next season with a 34-win campaign. But Beverley is much more optimistic about their 2025-26 season.
"I think he has a chance to go far in the playoffs, yes. Anytime he's on the court, the chances of winning for his team goes very high," Beverley added.
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With the additions of No.2 overall pick Dylan Harper and veterans Kelly Olynyk , Luke Kornet and Lindy Waters III , the Spurs have a deeper roster this season. If Wembanyama can stay healthy for a whole year, and the likes of De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle , Devin Vassell , Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes provide him steady help, it may be too early to count out the Spurs yet, at least for playoff contention.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
