“You can’t beat 7-5, 8-foot wingspan” – Brandon Miller on comparison with Victor Wembanyama for No 1 draft pick
Brandon Miller finds himself in a unique spot heading into the NBA draft. Early in the season, it looked as though Scoot Henderson would be selected second overall in the upcoming draft. Following the recent March Madness tournament, however, Alabama's Brandon Miller now sits as the potential No. 2 pick in the draft.
With the San Antonio Spurs in possession of the No. 1 pick, it's only a matter of time before Victor Wembanyama lands on the team's roster. Given the hype surrounding Wembanyama, it's no surprise that the NBA community has continued to analyze his game.
Although Brandon Miller believes that his game warrants him being the top overall pick, he admitted that you simply can't look past the physical qualities of Wembanyama. During a recent interview with Stadium, Miller spoke about the differences between his game and Wembanyama's:
"I feel like I'm No. 1, but you can't beat 7'5, eight-foot wingspan so I mean the guy's an animal. I respect him. Right now I'm just taking it day by day with my family, just slow. I feel like when we get to that night it's probably going to be really exciting and emotional. A lot of hugs, a lot of handshakes."
Will the Charlotte Hornets use the No. 2 pick on Brandon Miller?
Despite the fact that Brandon Miller's play on the court has been impressive, there's still quite a bit of uncertainty regarding whether or not he'll go second in the draft. In addition to last season's controversy that saw Miller connected to a fatal shooting carried out by his former Alabama teammate, he's also dealt with health issues.
Following March Madness, Miller contracted mononucleosis, popularly known as mono. As a result, he's lost a significant amount of weight and hasn't been able to keep up his usual training schedule.
According to rumors, Miller's interviews with organizations around the league have continued to cast doubt on his draft stock. Despite not facing any charges for his role in the fatal shooting that took place last season, the story brought quite a bit of negative press to Alabama.
(Suggested Reading: Brandon Miller reflects on gun incident)
At the time, coach Nate Oats spoke about the situation to media members:
"We've been taking it very seriously from Day 1. The first minute that I got the information, I called Greg [Byrne] and we talked about it and the severity of it. Greg I thought did a great job addressing those comments on Wednesday, and I really don't have much to add to it."
With the draft right around the corner on June 22, it will be interesting to see whether the Hornets select Miller with the No. 2 pick. Should the team opt for Scoot Henderson, the Portland Trail Blazers could wind up using the No. 3 pick on the 6-foot-9 forward.
(Suggested Reading: Nate Oats responds to criticism of Brandon Miller's pat-down intro)