(Reuters) – When it comes to the 2023 NBA Draft, there is Victor Wembanyama and then there is everyone else.
Wembanyama is considered a slam dunk to be taken first overall in Thursday’s NBA Draft by a San Antonio Spurs team that would be counting on the French basketball phenom to restore the franchise’s winning culture.
A so-called generational talent who can quickly change the trajectory of a franchise, Wembanyama is the most anticipated and hyped NBA Draft prospect since LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, in 2003.
The 19-year-old Wembanyama possesses a unique combination of size, athleticism and all-round talent that will make him a match-up nightmare for opposing teams in the NBA where he could one day be considered one of the game’s all-time greats.
“Wembanyama is unique. I’ve never seen anything quite like him on a basketball floor,” ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said on a conference call.
“At 7’4″ with a wing span of close to eight feet with fluidity and athleticism and mobility, I just can’t fathom a combination quite like that on a basketball floor.”
San Antonio have selected first overall twice before, choosing future Basketball Hall of Famers David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. The duo led the Spurs to two NBA titles while Duncan won three more with San Antonio.
For the Spurs, the chance to select Wembanyama could not have come at a better time given they have missed the playoffs in each of the last four NBA seasons and not advanced past the opening round of the playoffs since 2017.
While the Spurs, who got the opportunity to select first overall after winning the NBA Draft Lottery last month, have not publicly announced who they will pick, their fans are already planning for the arrival of Wembanyama.
According to reports, San Antonio have seen a surge in season ticket sales along with 10 times the amount of web traffic and Spurs app downloads since the lottery results.
The term “unicorn” has been tossed around in NBA circles for years to describe rare prospects who have both the size to dominate as a power forward or centre and also the dribbling, passing, shooting and speed that resemble a guard.
But four-time NBA champion James felt that term had been used too loosely and went in another direction to describe Wembanyama, who is one of the highest-ceiling prospects many scouts have ever seen.
“Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but (Wembanyama’s) more like an alien,” James said last October. “No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor.”
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.
“What makes this draft different is Victor Wembanyama is in it. I have not seen a draft like this since my first one when LeBron was drafted” said Bilas.
“Wembanyama is built for the modern game. We’ve never seen anything quite like him.”
The Charlotte Hornets own the second pick in the NBA Draft while the Portland Trail Blazers are set to pick third overall.
There will be 58 picks across two rounds in the 2023 NBA Draft instead of the usual 60 because Philadelphia and Chicago forfeited a second-round pick due to violating rules governing free agency discussions.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
