Topline
French basketball star Victor Wembanyama said Friday he is entering this summer’s NBA draft, though it remains unclear where the heavily hyped 19-year-old—who has been lauded as one of the greatest prospects in the history of the sport—will play when he enters the league.
Victor Wembanyama of Metropolitan 92 reacts during the Betclic Elite match between Metropolitan 92 … [+]
Key Facts
Wembanyama made his highly anticipated announcement while appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today on Friday afternoon—giving a rare interview to U.S. media.
Wembanyama—who stands seven feet, three inches tall with a wingspan spanning eight feet—is playing professionally in France for Paris-based Metropolitans 92, where he has averaged more than 21 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game this season.
He is all but certain to be the first pick in the draft but it’s not known which team will be making a pick, since the NBA relies on a lottery system to determine its draft order based on how teams performed in the previous season.
The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs are tied for the best odds of landing Wembanyama at 14%, followed by the Charlotte Hornets at 12.5% and the Portland Trail Blazers at 10.5%.
What To Watch For
The draft lottery takes place on May 16. The draft itself takes place on June 22.
Key Background
NBA analysts have widely compared Wembanyama to exalted basketball figures like LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, though some have gone so far as to call him the greatest prospect in basketball history, arguing his massive wingspan and skill across different positions makes him unique. Wembanyama’s emergence comes as international players increasingly dominate the NBA and basketball grows more popular across the world. All three finalists for the league’s most valuable player award this year came to the league from overseas: Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (Cameroon) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić (Serbia). Jokić is the two-time reigning league MVP, while Antetokounmpo won the league’s top individual award the two seasons prior.
Contra
Hyped prospects have struggled to live up to expectations in the past. Then-Duke forward Zion Williamson was also considered one of the best prospect basketball observers had ever seen when he entered the 2019 draft, but his professional career has been rocky at best. Williamson has been selected to two all-star games but has hardly been on the floor due to a series of injuries. In his four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, Williamson has missed the majority of his team’s games and has never participated in the playoffs.
Further Reading
18-Year-Old Frenchman Victor Wembanyama Being Hailed As The ‘Single Greatest Prospect In NBA History’ (Forbes)
Zion Williamson Is Already Creating as Much Buzz as Steph Curry and LeBron (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/04/21/basketball-phenom-victor-wembanyama-declares-for-nba-draft/