Wemby era has now begun…
Last June, Victor Wembanyama was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs at the NBA Draft in New York, 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.
Towering 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.
In the rich basketball history of San Antonio, the ball club 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.
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.
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.
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.
With additional report: Reuters.com, Rhory Carol
