In an anonymous poll of 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives this week, San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was overwhelmingly chosen as the league’s best player five years from now.

As part of a wide-ranging poll conducted by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, 12 of the 18 voters tabbed the 7’4″ Frenchman as the future of the NBA, ahead of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić (two votes each), and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (one vote each).

It is difficult to argue against the notion that Wemby will be the NBA’s top player in five years given that the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft was the unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year and finished second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award voting in his debut season.

Given his blend of size and skill, Wembanyama was one of the most hyped prospects to enter the NBA in years, and he didn’t disappoint.

Although the Spurs finished only 22-60, Wembanyama provided a shining beacon of hope, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 three-pointers made, 1.2 steals and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game in 71 contests.

As if that wasn’t enough, the 20-year-old nearly led France to a gold medal in Olympic basketball on home soil, as he helped take the French team to the gold medal game against the United States.

France kept it close throughout and Wembanyama led all scorers with 26 points, but the favored Americans managed to prevail by a 98-87 score.

Wembanyama has likely only scratched the surface with regard to how good he can be, and all signs point toward him continuing to develop as he gets better and the talent around him improves.

While Wembanyama is just getting started, the other four players who received votes in the poll have accomplished a great deal already.

Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time All-Star who finished second in the NBA MVP voting last season, Doncic is a five-time All-Star who took the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season, Edwards is a two-time All-Star who won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA this summer and Jokic is a three-time NBA MVP, one-time NBA champion and one-time NBA Finals MVP.

All of them have a chance to be the class of the NBA five years from now, but Wembanyama is the youngest and undoubtedly has the most room to improve.

Regardless, the NBA figures to look a lot different in five years than it does now, as legendary future Hall of Famers such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry could potentially all be out of the league by then.