The most anticipated lottery of recent years has delivered its verdict: San Antonio wins the jackpot. This Tuesday evening, in Chicago, the ping-pong balls have indeed awarded the first choice of the 2023 draft to the Texas franchise. On June 22, the Spurs should therefore select Victor Wembanyama (2.21 m, 19 years old), the French prodigy being the huge favorite of this draft, and even the most coveted hope since LeBron James in 2003.
Spurs owner Peter J. Holt’s shout of joy as NBA No. 2 Mark Tatum broke the news says it all about what the “Wemby” draft means. ” I’m going to faint “a even dropped Holt to ESPN.
In the footsteps of Parker
In San Antonio, which finished last season in the west and had a 14% chance of winning the lottery, Wembanyama will continue the legacy left by Tony Parker, drafted in 2001 and four-time champion with the Spurs. He will land in a franchise that has a long tradition with foreign players (Parker, Ginobili, Oberto, Mills, Splitter etc.), especially the French (Diaw, Mahinmi, De Colo). He will evolve under the leadership of the legendary Gregg Popovich, who built with Tim Duncan (another interior number one draft, in 1997), one of the most beautiful dynasties in NBA history.
Wembanyama attended the lottery from Nike’s headquarters on the Champs-Élysées, surrounded by his family and a few guests including Kylian Mbappé. Shortly before, he had played his last regular season game with the Mets 92 de Boulogne-Levallois (93-85 victory), and finished as Betclic Elite’s top scorer, rebounder and blocker (21.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks on average). Second, the Mets will face Cholet in the quarterfinals of the play-offs.