Lamine Yamal has his World Cup. The 19-year-old helped Spain to a second consecutive major trophy on Sunday, and it has sparked an interesting debate about the best NBA comp for the young star.
This is no ordinary talent. Yamal has been playing for Barcelona since he was 15, played a huge part in winning a European championship at 17, and now has a World Cup to add to his resume.
It makes comparison with the NBA difficult. It’s virtually impossible to accomplish all he has by this age in basketball. Still, there were no shortage of suggestions — some more on the money than others.
Finding the NBA’s Lamine Yamal
The question was put to X users following Sunday’s World Cup final.
Yamal is one of soccer’s elite wingers with insane dribbling, playmaking and IQ. That mattered for some making their choice. For many, though, the focus was on career context.
To no surprise, a popular choice was Victor Wembanyama. As one fan put it: “WEMBY, two years into it and already showing signs of greatness.”
Yamal and Wemby have both been labelled generational talents, taking their sports by storm years before they were expected to. If you’re looking for the same level of talent in the NBA, the Frenchman is a strong choice.
The distinction is that Wembanyama has yet to win anything of note. Yamal has two international trophies and three Spanish league titles.
Explained perfectly by this fan: “Great question. Winning a chip at his age does end the conversation. But getting close, I say Wemby.”
A few fans went for Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.
He and Yamal are the same age, and he’s another potentially generational prospect coming through. But at least Wemby made the finals. Flagg has done nothing of the sort.
Comparing Yamal to anyone his own age, in any sport, is a fruitless exercise.
That’s why some fans chose to go further back, looking amongst some of the greatest to grace the NBA.
This user thinks even legends like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James don’t cut it: “None, closest is LeBron and Kobe. Neither of them won a championship this early. World Cup is different than NBA because it is between 48 countries.”
There is a better suggestion even further back in history. One fan writes: “Magic…. Assisting maaad early to a chip.”
He is referring, of course, to Magic Johnson. At 20, he led the Lakers to the chip in his rookie season. The strongest comp yet.
Then we wade into a different territory. Fans who aren’t sold on Yamal’s greatness yet.
As this fan says: “Jayson Tatum. The star player on paper but got carried by the supporting cast down the stretch.”
In fairness, Yamal wasn’t one of the standout Spaniards during their World Cup run, but ‘carried’ is a bit of a push. But that wasn’t an isolated incident.
Another fan echoed the sentiment, saying: “Young player with a lot of promise but contributed nothing on a championship-winning team. I honestly couldn’t tell you.”
Another Yamal denier simply writes: “Ben Simmons.” He must think Yamal is about to peak too early and fade into insignificance.
Other suggestions included Jordan Poole, Dylan Harper, Anthony Edwards, pre-Lakers Luka Doncic and 2015 Stephen Curry — on account of losing out on the Golden Ball to a teammate, like what happened with Andre Iguadola.
🇪🇸🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappe or Lamine Yamal: Who would you rather have on your team and WHY?
🥊 Yamal is now 6-0 vs Mbappe in KO matches!
Whoever you think comes closest, a final fan comment really drives home the problem with this debate.
They wrote: “No one honestly, not disrespect but Lamine achieved more in 19 than any NBA players.”
Combining Yamal’s youth with his unprecedented success as a teenager sets him apart from, well, everyone. There was no consensus, and there shouldn’t be.
Magic is the best answer, though.
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