Exceptional talent Victor Wembanyama reacted emotionally to his future with the San Antonio Spurs. When NBA boss Adam Silver officially announced what had been expected for weeks at the draft in the best basketball league in the world, the 19-year-old Frenchman cried in a TV interview afterwards.
“I’ve achieved something I’ve dreamed of all my life. I’ve dreamed of hearing that line from Adam Silver for so long. I have to cry,” he said. “My goal is to learn as much and as quickly as possible because I want to win this ring.”
Biggest talent since LeBron James
Players who win a championship in the NBA usually get rings as gifts from their teams. In the talent drawing in the best basketball league in the world, the worst teams get to pick first. The NBA wants to ensure more equal opportunities.
Wembanyama, short for Wemby, is considered the biggest talent since LeBron James was picked first by the Cleveland Cavaliers 20 years ago. He is 2.18 meters tall and, in addition to the range advantages, also has an excellent feel for the ball. “How big he is, how he can dribble, how he can throw – in terms of skill, he really has the potential to be one of the best in history. But you can’t skip steps,” said national team captain Dennis Schröder of the German Press Agency told the drafts.
Two brothers in the top 10
In principle, it was clear that Spurs would select Wembanyama, who had been touted as a huge talent in the USA for months, when coach Gregg Popovich’s team won the so-called draft lottery in mid-May. The league raffles off the first four positions among the teams that did not make it into the playoffs. The worse a team was in the main round, the greater the chances of the right to the first choice.
The Charlotte Hornets chose Brandon Miller for second place. The Portland Trail Blazers selected Scoot Henderson, whom many experts considered the best draft player after Wembanyama. Twins Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson went fourth and fifth to the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons respectively. There have never been two brothers in the top 10 in NBA draft history.
