(SNH) — In November, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama said he wasn’t a fan of the "unicorn" nickname placed on him.

The nickname previously had been linked to the likes of Kristaps Porzingis and Chet Homgren to describe players with the rare ability to do a little bit of everything on the basketball court – no matter their size or position.

Instead, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman said he prefers the "alien" nickname given to him by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

"(Unicorn) has been used over and over, so I'm not really a big fan of it," Wembanyama said. "There's just one alien, right?"

James gave Wembanyama the "alien" nickname ahead of the 2023 NBA draft, where Wembanyama was drafted first overall.

"We're labeling like this unicorn thing – everybody's been a unicorn over the last few years," James said. "But he's more like an alien – no one has seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor."

An alien – something not from this world – is what Wembanyama has proven to be so far in his young NBA career.

On a nightly basis, the absurdity of his stat lines is only outdone by the electricity of his highlights. The 20-year-old is currently the front-runner for Rookie of the Year honors.

In a game against James’ Lakers this week, Wembanyama became one of only two rookies in NBA history (and the 15th player in NBA history overall) to have a 5x5 game – posting at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks in a single game. Wembanyama finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks in just 31 minutes.

He also became the second NBA player to have five blocks and five steals in consecutive games, joining Michael Jordan.

In a post-game interview, Wembanyama pondered Jordan's feat in what served as a reflection of his youthful maturity thus far: "I wonder if (Jordan) did it in wins."

Jordan indeed did it in wins. Wembanyama did it in losses. Despite Wembanyama’s best efforts, the Spurs are 11-47, sitting dead last in the Western Conference.

Wembanyama doesn't seem to care much about his personal accomplishments until they’re attached to the win column.

"To me, it's secondary," Wembanyama said. "Hopefully in the future, we can look back and think of this as a good performance, but as of today, I can't be satisfied with a loss."

After the game, James expressed high praise for Wembanyama.

"He doesn't have a ceiling… he can do whatever he wants to do with his career,” James said. “I said a long time ago how special he was, and it's literally that simple.”

Wembanyama is leading all rookies in points (20.7), rebounds (10.1) and blocks (3.3) per game. Through Feb. 25, he had more total blocks in the month of February than six NBA teams.

Along with leading the Rookie of the Year race, he’s set to earn serious Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

During NBA All-Star weekend earlier this month, Wembanyama competed in the Rising Stars Challenge and Skills Challenge. After his team lost the latter, Wembanyama was asked about his teammates not necessarily taking the contest as seriously as he did.

“Yeah, they wanna have fun,” Wembanyama said. “But fun is winning, for me.”

Fresh off his All-Star weekend debut, it was announced Wembanyama is entering the fashion world. Louis Vuitton announced Wembanyama would be joining the French fashion company as its newest brand ambassador.

Wembanyama’s star is expected to rise even more this summer. He’s set to be the face of the French men’s basketball team during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Wembanyama is doing all the right things. He’s saying all the right things. His potential seems to be unlimited.

All-Star weekend served as another reminder that LeBron James’ historic run as face of the NBA will end sooner rather than later. The question of who his successor will be was one of the hottest topics in a weekend filled with young stars.

Names including Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum were all floated around. And so was Victor Wembanyama’s.

"I don't think you just say, 'Okay, well, this guy's the next person," James said. "You have to just let it happen organically and see what happens. But we have some great, great players in this league that can carry anything if they put their minds where they want it."

A certain alien could fit the bill.

Danny Schwartz is a writer for Sports News Highlights.

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