NBA scout Laron Profit raves over Scoot Henderson, Victor Wembanyama

The Ignite ended up winning the contest 122-115, but the final score was the furthest thing from every spectator's mind. They were there to evaluate, assess and ultimately decide if these two highly-touted prospects were as advertised or if they were overhyped and overrated. Needless to say, they were not disappointed.

I caught up with Washington Wizards scout, former NBA player and my old teammate Laron Profit to discuss his evaluation of Wembanyama and Henderson.

Etan Thomas: Well, that game definitely didn’t disappoint, did it? 

Laron Profit: "No sir. It was an amazing game."

Etan: It really was. I was thoroughly impressed. What were your first impressions of the much-anticipated showdown? Do you think it lived up to the hype? 

Profit: "Definitely! Listen, when you've watched and played a lot of basketball, you’ve heard numerous times phrases like, 'This is the biggest game of the year,' or, 'This is the biggest game of their lives.' And for these two young guys at this age to be playing in a game that had this much hype, and in some ways a lot of pressure — I think they said there were over 200 credited NBA scouts or personnel in the building.

"For these young guys to play at that level is incredible. I mean, it's really remarkable. And that's what I kept saying to myself watching them play. With all of this that's going on around them, the way they are playing, it really speaks to, from my perspective, the makeup of both of these guys to be able to take that and come out and play at the highest level. And it was just really impressive for me watching that."

Etan: I definitely agree. Let's start with Scoot. What were your impressions from him specifically? If you could break down his game for me? 

Profit: "Sure, first and foremost, the body. I mean, honestly, the first thing I see is: Y'all are telling me this kid is 18? He is built like a grown man. Physically, he looks the part of an NBA lead guard. And so for me, that was the first thing that I noticed, just how compact and strong he looks. And then, his ability to get wherever he wants on the court was very evident. But I'm going to tell you one of the things that I always evaluate young guards on that he has already — he plays the game at his own pace. He's not in a rush. He's not being sped up. He almost, in his mind, knows where he's trying to get to, and he's going to get there when he decides he wants to get there. There's really nothing the defense can do.

"Because there were some times last night where he could have just went and tried to use his speed, but he was like, 'No, come here. Come set this pick, I want this matchup. I want this switch out. And then I'm going to split it. I'm going to get to the paint.' And that's what I think we saw a couple times when he ended up finishing over Victor, but it was really just his ability to slow the game down, play it at his pace and then, use his explosiveness in tight spaces to finish over a guy who's 7-foot-5."

Etan: Who would Scoot's draft comparison be?

Profit: "Watching him last night, I think it's not one person. To me, it's a combination of [Derrick] Rose and John Wall. In terms of just the body, I think John, when he came out, he was... I mean, D-Rose was too, but John was a little bit bigger. And I think that explosiveness and ability to change gears, I think he has that [in common with] with D-Rose is touching the paint. D-Rose had a really good touch in that paint in terms of finishing. And I think that's some of the things that I saw from (Scoot). He did the [Rajon] Rondo move one time to fake, turned back around, pivoted, and he shot the little jumper. He has a really good mid-range. He's worked on his three-pointer. I think just watching it, and from what I heard, I think those two guys — a combination of John and D-Rose are kind of where I see him."

Etan: Let's go to Victor now. Break down his game and what you saw from watching him.

Profit: "Man. It's like Ralph Sampson had a baby (laughing)."

Etan: (Laughing) Right. People forget about Ralph when he came into the league.

Profit: "Yes they do. A lot of people forget about Ralph, obviously the Virginia years, but his first four years in the league, he was an All Star.

"And he was All-NBA, or maybe Second Team. And he was just something the league hadn't really seen at that size, with that type of shooting touch. And watching Victor last night and his ability to shoot off the dribble, to shoot the three with ease, to put the ball on the floor, to actually rebound and push the ball — it was truly special to see that from a guy his size with that type of skill level. Just the passing. Overall, it was just remarkable watching it. And to me, what really kind of stood out was, as the game got late, he wanted the ball. He was more aggressive. He was looking for his shot.

"And when you're talking about drafting somebody No. 1, Giannis talked about it the other day — skill can get you to a certain level, but it's mentality. It's makeup. It's how do you respond to adversity? How do you approach the game? That ultimately separates the elite from super elite. And watching (Victor's) body language and his aggressiveness late in the game when the game got tight, that was a really good sign, because it says to me, 'He's not afraid of the moment.' And that was something that stood out to me as much as the shooting and the ball-handling and the skill level.

"I would like to see him become a better rebounder. For his size, to only have 4 rebounds in a game like that, I want to see more of that. But then, the other part that he brings is the elite shot-blocking, and the ability to change shots at the rim. He goes after shots. He's not afraid. So he has a lot of skills in that size that just, when you look at and put it all together, you may be looking at a generational type of talent if he can stay healthy."

Etan: So Ralph Sampson aside, who would be Victor's draft comparison?

Profit: "I mean, he's like a super-sized Kevin Garnett. A nice version (laughing)."

Etan: (Laughing) The non-cussing version.

Profit: "Yeah, the non-cussing version (laughing). I just remember when I watched KG in high school —people in the league didn't really get to see a lot of it. But KG in high school, I mean, he brought it up, he handled it, he shot the ball from the perimeter. He was a dominant shot-blocker. His skill level in high school, I mean, he obviously went fifth in the draft when people weren't even thinking about taking high school [players]. His skill level was just off the charts.

"And I see that in this kid, but except, he's 7-foot-5. And now, he's in a league where skill is obviously at the top of the pecking order, because everyone's playing small. So you can have a guy 7-foot-5 who has the skill level to stay on the court with these small guys, but then he's still big enough to impact the rim and do all the things that big people do.

"I mean, we saw it last year with Evan Mobley to a degree, what he did for Cleveland. He allowed Cleveland to play a lot of those bigs because (positionally) Evan can guard 2s and 3s. And so it changes everything you can do, because now offensively, he's good enough that you can't just throw anybody on him. But then defensively, he can go in multiple positions, he can switch everything, he can block shots, he can rebound. So I think Victor is another level of that when you watch him play."

Etan: I've seen some conflicting reports about Victor's height. I've seen 7-foot-5. On Google, it said 7-foot-2. I saw another report said 7-foot-3. I'll be interested to see what his actual height is when he goes to the NBA Draft Combine.

Profit: "Just say he’s tall (laughing)."

Etan: (Laughing) Taller than-a-mug.

Profit: "Yeah. Right now, that’s all they have to say. Just put down that he's taller than-a-mug (laughing)."

Etan: Let me hit you with one more question then I'll let you go. As far as the safe pick, who would you pick one and two? I've seen different people debating this on all the sports talk shows for the last two days. From your perspective of the two players, who would you go with as your No. 1?

Profit: "I mean, you take the layup. Victor is... I don't even know how you compare him in the last 10 years [to anybody]. When you look at his size, skill set, ability, upside and just the way the game is being played, he's a layup. And this is no discredit to Scoot, because I think whoever gets the second pick is going to get an All-NBA type of player. Someone who could be amongst the top point guards, maybe the best point guards in the league in four or five years. So it's not like you're just settling.

"But when you talk about 7-foot-2, four, five, whatever he is... With that shooting, that skill set — and the way he moves is so fluid — it's just hard for me to legitimately say to take anybody else. I was literally like, 'Okay, go back over the last four or five drafts; would you take him over Zion [Williamson]? [Would you] take him over this guy?' There was nobody that I looked at who I say I would take over him Victor if he was in the same draft. He is that special."