Wembanyama era begins as Spurs draft French phenom first overall

 

[June 23, 2023]  By Rory Carroll

(Reuters) -Victor Wembanyama was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs at the NBA Draft in New York on Thursday, making the player seen as a once-in-a-generation talent the highest-drafted French player in league history.

The 19-year-old 'Wemby' comes into the league with a buzz that has not been seen since LeBron James, the league's all-time leading scorer, was drafted out of high school 20 years ago.

Wembanyama cried with joy after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called his name at Barclays Center.

"I've accomplished something that I've been dreaming of my whole life," he said. "Hearing that sentence from Adam Silver, I dreamed about it. I've got to cry.

"This is the best night of my life."

At 7 feet, 4 inches (2.24m) Wembanyama has the size of a center but the ball handling, passing and shooting abilities of a guard, a jaw-dropping combination with the potential to revolutionize the sport.

He is dangerous shooting the ball from long range and athletic enough to rebound and dunk his own misses.

With a wing span of close to 8 feet, he can block shots and grab rebounds with ease and gets up and down the floor quickly for a player of his size.

Despite his height, he weighs only 230 pounds (104 kilograms) and it remains to be seen whether he can bulk up before the regular season kicks off in late October.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will look to further develop his unique skill set in the hopes of resurrecting the storied franchise, which has missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and has not advanced past the opening round since 2017.

"I've felt so much love towards me by the Spurs fans," Wembanyama said.

"I think there's murals of me in the city of San Antonio. This is so incredible. I could not ask for a better welcome than this. I really love the fan base, man."

San Antonio has selected first overall twice before, choosing future Basketball Hall of Famers David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. They led the Spurs to two NBA titles, and Duncan won three more with San Antonio.

The team have a history of success with French players, including Tony Parker, who led them to four championships between 2003 and 2014 and whom Wembanyama grew up admiring.

The previous highest-drafted French player to the NBA was Killian Hayes, selected seventh by the Detroit Pistons in 2020. Basketball is popular in France, and the country has produced more NBA players than any other country outside North America.

Jun 22, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Victor Wembanyama arrives for the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft at Barclays Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Wembanyama is coming off a solid campaign with Metropolitans 92, a professional team in the French League, where he averaged 21.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and won several awards, including being named most valuable player.

After Wembanyama went first overall, the Charlotte Hornets selected Brandon Miller with the second pick and the Portland Trail Blazers chose Scoot Henderson with the third.

BILLION-DOLLAR MAN

Wembanyama's impact on the Spurs was felt instantly as more than 12,000 fans showed up to AT&T Center in San Antonio to watch the broadcast of the draft on Thursday.

"He's going to up their franchise value by a billion dollars in terms of their brand equity," Bob Dorfman, creative director and market analyst for Pinnacle Advertising, told Reuters. "The Warriors are the most valuable at $7 billion and this will probably vault San Antonio into the top 10.

"They're going to get more TV exposure, more games in primetime. They're probably going to sell out the arena every night and they'll probably be able to raise their ticket prices substantially."

According to reports, San Antonio has seen a surge in season ticket sales, along with 10 times the amount of web traffic and Spurs app downloads since winning the NBA Draft Lottery last month.

Wembanyama's endorsement deal with Nike is expected to be the most the company has ever paid for a basketball player, likely in the $100 million range over 10 years, Dorfman said.

French brands that do big business in the U.S. such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Peugeot and Dior could be next, Dorfman said.

"They'll all be jumping on his bandwagon," he said.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Gerry Doyle and Peter Rutherford)

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