Two of France’s top athletes could hardly be more dissimilar in appearance.
On his big day, Kylian Mbappe visited Victor Wembanyama
On Wednesday night in Paris, Kylian Mbappe watched top NBA Draft ргоꜱреcт Victor Wembanyama play his final regular-season game for French team Metropolitans 92. Fans couldn’t stop talking about the moment the athletic pair met after the match as Wembanyama prepared to watch the NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago.
On Wednesday night, before the NBA Draft lottery, Wembanyama towered over Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, highlighting his enormous dimensions.
Wembanyama scored 22 points in a 93-85 victory over Paris, while Mbappe watched from courtside as his fellow countryman in action. Fans, however, were unable to resist but draw attention to the stark height disparity between Mbappe and Wembanyama, who made Mbappe appear childlike.
Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain and Victor Wembanyama of Metropolitans 92 met on Wednesday in France. Wembanyama is widely regarded as the best ргоꜱреcт in the 2023 NBA Draft. The encounter resulted in a cгаzy photograph of the two of them standing side by side (in which Mbappe had to look extremely high to catch Wembanyama’s gaze).
Look at this.
This picture of Mbappe and Wemby is blowing my mind. Dude is a literal giant. pic.twitter.com/Mo1mUu7zFg
— Berny Belvedere (@bernybelvedere) May 17, 2023
The meeting between the two, which included a handshake between Mbappe and Wembanyama, may be seen in the following video.
¡Atención a este encuentro! El saludo entre Mbappé y Victor Wembanyama, quien jugará para los Spurs en la #NBAxESPN. Es uno de los mejores proyectos en la historia del deporte. pic.twitter.com/HyeziK7UXP
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) May 17, 2023
Mbappe, who is 5-foot-10, has guided France to back-to-back World Cup finals, including a championship in 2018. Even though he is still a little higher than the normal male height, he is better recognized for his speed and dribbling skills rather than his physical domination.
Wembanyama, however, most certainly cannot be considered to be the same. Massive 7-foot-4 (or 7-foot-5 in shoes) Wembanyama, who is 19 years old, may still have more room to grow than Mbappe, 24, does.
Mbappe shouldn’t, however, feel too awful. Even fellow seven-footers look rather small in relation to the enormous Wembanyama.
They appear to have become close over the past year, and both of them are sportingly paving the way for France. But when they were positioned next to one another, fans couldn’t help but make fun of them, as one wrote: “Mbappe’s neck probably hurt from looking up at Wemby.”
Another person chimed in, mentioning Mbappe’s height but also praising him for being at the peak of his game: “The first time Mbappe has ever looked up to anyone.” One fan wrote, “Mbappe links up with Eifel Tower.”
Throughout his entire career, Wembanyama’s height has been a benefit, but it’s not the only thing the Frenchman has going for him. Wembanyama is a тҺгеат when shooting from beyond the arc, and because to his cleverness, he has created a number of amazing moments that have gone viral.
Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery was a big affair, and the Spurs were the lucky winners of the first choice, almost certainly securing the generational talent that could transform their organization. If Wembanyama lives up to expectations, Spurs will have a superstar on their hands.
It may be one of the largest trade packages in recent memory, even if the player or the organization push for a trade at a later time. Wembanyama would currently be selected by any team in the world, just as Mbappe.