With just over 20 games left in the 2022-23 regular season, some fans from teams that aren’t in contention for a playoff spot have already turned their attention to the 2023 NBA Draft, which is headlined by star prospect Victor Wembanyama. There hasn’t been a prospect as hyped as Wembanyama in quite some time, but one guy who understands what he’s going through is LeBron James.

Coming straight out of high school into the NBA, James was expected to be great right away, and he sure was. Now 20 years later, James is witnessing Wembanyama go through something similar as he continues to prove why he is such an elite prospect this season. As the hype for Wembanyama continues to build, James offered the young French prospect some advice as the draft draws closer and closer.

“The most important thing [for him] is stay true to the game. And that’s one thing for me. I always tell myself, ‘I’m going to commit to the game. I’m going to train. I’m going to prepare myself physically, mentally, spiritually, to give to the game if you want to be great.’ The second thing is don’t forget to have fun because it becomes a business. It becomes a business right away. And he’s going through it right now, and it’s going to get even — I don’t want to say worse, but it gets even more demanding on you on the business side.” – LeBron James, ESPN

James obviously knows what it takes to be great in the NBA, so Wembanyama should do his best to take these comments to heart and attempt to use them to help him become a star in the league himself. Either way, the hype for Wembanyama continues to build, and it will be interesting to see if teams begin really jostling for the worst record in the league over the next few months in an effort to have the best odds to land the top pick in the upcoming draft lottery.