There is no denying that Victor Wembanyama has exceeded expectations as an NBA phenom. But how good was he? Is he already a top 10 player in the league in his second season?

The Spurs star will play his 100th NBA game on Friday – and turns 21 on Saturday! – Our staff puts his early career into perspective and explores his ultimate limit.

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1. Score from 0 to 100: What grade would you give Wembanyama after 100 games?

Vincent Goodwill: 100. What didn’t he do? What can’t he do? Jump over tall buildings in a single jump? Blocking shots, starting and ending a quick rest before you can inhale/exhale? He did all of that and didn’t have to command the Spurs’ offense. Last year no one knew or wanted to give him the ball and he still dominated. More of the same this year. OK, back-to-the-basket game, mid-post game, he’s working on it. But he’s not even a season and a half old yet.

Tom Haberstroh: 99. Like the greats, he has exceeded great expectations. At 7ft 5 – don’t give me that 7ft 3 nonsense – Wemby distorts the game in a way we’ve never seen at his age. If he’s this good before his 21st birthday, I shudder to think what he’ll be before his 31st birthday. A playoff visit with this squad will increase this value to 100.

Morten Stig Jensen: 95. My interpretation of 100 is Wilt/Kareem/MJ territory, so Wemby is just behind, partly due to the fact that his first 30 or so games were well below average for his performance since then – and yes, that was indeed the case San Antonio case is to blame, but it happened anyway. He has many areas where he can continue to improve, such as reducing turnovers, optimizing his playmaking, and better controlling his shot selection, which makes him even more ridiculous as a player. For a man who will see exponential improvement over the next five seasons, ninety-five is like starting a video game with all the cheats turned on.

Ben Rohrbach: 100. I’m not sure we could have reasonably expected anything other than what Wembanyama accomplished, which was to establish himself as a bona fide All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year candidate in his second season. An average of 26-10-4, plus a handful of blocks and steals per game, on 48/36/88 shooting splits for a team fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference at age 21 is fair crazy.

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2. What has been Wembanyama’s most impressive achievement so far?

Jensen: Remember February last season when he was one assist shy of the rare 5×5 line? Media outlets around the world were still writing about how the barely 20-year-old almost made it, praising him for his valiant effort, and then the guy went out and ACTUALLY did it just 24 hours later. This is the stuff from which legends are made. I’m just waiting for the inevitable Player of the Week award, where he scored a 5×5 three times in a row.

Haberstroh: If Big Vic were a team, he would rank 14th among all teams in blocks over the last 10 games. Better than the average team. Alone. And it’s not just the blocks. If it stays that way, he would be the first player to average at least three blocks and three 3-pointers this season – a fact we pointed out last month at The Big Number. Since taping the show, he’s somehow raised the bar, averaging an absurd – dare I say alien-like – 5.3 blocks and 4.4 3-pointers. Y’all, he turns 21 on Saturday.

Rohrbach: It’s not just that Wembanyama is the leading candidate for DPOY. He is by far the best defensive player in the league. The numbers prove it. Its length changes the shape of the ground. We can expect him to have the best defensive season of all time at some point in the near future and then lead it for the rest of the decade.

Goodwill: We’re in a league where there’s Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert has the DPOY award in his hands all the time, and Bam Adebayo is perhaps the most versatile defender in the world, and yet we all recognize that he’s the guy. The blocks, the steals, the unattended shots because he’s lurking. Poor Evan Mobley and Chet Holmgren, they would have cornered the skinny big market if that alien hadn’t come along.

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3. True or False: Victor Wembanyama is already one of the top 10 players in the NBA.

Rohrbach: TRUE. In a world where Rudy Gobert has made four All-NBA squads, we finally have an answer to the question: What if this guy was also great on offense? Not only would he be one of the 15 most influential players in the league. He would be in the top 10, no question.

Goodwill: TRUE. We are no longer in a world where we can expect Steph, KD and LeBron to be automatically installed in the top 10. Maybe they live on the backend, but the transition is there, at least in terms of efficiency and consistency. Big Slim could be a top 5 player and knock on Jokić/SGA/Luka’s door because he impacts the game in so many profound ways. Just watch the Christmas game at MSG. I don’t care that Spurs lost, he was the best player on the field.

Haberstroh: TRUE. Really, he’s already a top five player. According to some advanced metrics, such as estimated plus-minus, it was a topthree Players of this season. If Wemby had the luxury of the supporting casts of OKC, Boston, Milwaukee or Denver, he would be a true MVP candidate. Unfortunately, the second most points in the Spurs squad belong to Julian Champagnie.

Jensen: TRUE. He has bridged the gap between offense and defense to such an extent that it is impossible to argue against him for a top-10 spot. If you’re one of the best, if not the best, defenders in the NBA and score 25 efficient points per game, you’re automatically in the conversation. Add 10 rebounds and damn near four assists per game while pushing your otherwise boring team to a record above .500 in the Western Conference and it becomes undeniable.

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4. What do you expect from Wembanyama in his next 100 games?

Haberstroh: He will play at an MVP level. Whether the Spurs front office supports him with enough successful players is a different story. Specifically, I expect half a dozen 5×5 games, millions of new fans, and hopefully a lower attrition rate. I hesitate to condemn the guy, but if this continues, he’ll snatch the torch from LeBron and Steph as the face of the league before the next 100 games are over.

Rohrbach: The playoffs. Currently the 10th seed in the Western Conference, Wembanyama’s Spurs still have a ways to go to secure a playoff spot, but he’s got that job. If the Wembanyama we saw at the Olympics – or the Wembanyama we’ve seen in recent weeks – is what we get in the play-in tournament, the Spurs will be one in any one-game scenario Nightmare, and I like my chances with the 7-foot-5 guy who can do it all.

Jensen: The first 100 games represented the introduction. The next 100 games will represent The Fear. Not for him, but for everyone else. The Spurs are loaded with draft picks, have tradeable contracts and should give any semi-senior prospect a deep breath of air. Obviously, Wembanyama will be the most important cog of this Spurs team and the franchise will go as far as he does. Given that Wembanyama’s potential is essentially limitless, it’s better for teams to win now while they still can.

Goodwill: Who knows what the numbers will look like, but the team should look a lot better in the next year and a half. Once again there has been a change at the top – Oklahoma City, Houston, Memphis – as the Greybearded teams fight for second place. Wembanyama’s growth will be measured by Spurs knowing exactly what to do around him, so he doesn’t have to work as hard to hit his numbers. It’s more about the team than the player, these next 100.

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5. What is Wembanyama’s ultimate ceiling in the NBA?

Goodwill: He can do anything, be anything – he can compete with Hakeem and Duncan on those ridiculous but sometimes funny GOAT lists. If he is in reasonably good health, he will receive the Defensive Player of the Year award. One would assume there are a few MVPs in play. Who knows how long he will dominate, but he will dominate in this league with parity. He will have his ultimate moments, but because of the way the league is built, it’s not designed to last for very long.

Haberstroh: The GOAT. I don’t expect him to get past Mike and LeBron and make it. I just don’t know how to judge his age, his length, his stamina, his motor, his ability and not judge his potential as greater than that of anyone who has ever picked up a basketball. If he plays 86 percent of his teams’ games as before, he has a good chance of being at the top.

Jensen: I’ve liked the Kareem comparison for a while now, even though their playstyles differ significantly. The overall feel of a game is similar, except Wembanyama is able to stretch the floor to fit into the new-age NBA. However, that is the individual perspective. The greats are always judged by winning, and here we see a player who could win multiple championships, multiple MVPs, and be the Defensive Player of the Year for a decade. We can’t shy away from this: His ultimate ceiling is GOAT territory.

Rohrbach: MVP. Champion. Multiple times for both. All timer. GOAT? He doesn’t have a blanket.