It seems nearly every year, in every sport, there is a sure-fire No. 1 prospect. Teams spend all season losing games in order to pick first overall in their respective drafts. Especially in the NBA, where tanking has been a recent trend. It was no different this season, with Victor Wembanyama being the ultimate prize.
Even so, teams were gunning for the top pick a little harder than usual. Wembanyama is viewed as a special prospect. Heading into the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, teams were praying they would be the last card revealed.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski explained just how good Wembanyama could be. He ventured to say regardless of the sport, the Frenchman could be the best prospect in the history of team sports.
“This is the most highly-anticipated player to ever enter the NBA,” Wojnarowski said. “Maybe not only the greatest prospect in the NBA’s history. Maybe the greatest prospect in the history of team sports.”
From a basketball perspective, there has not been this much hype for a player since LeBron James. He was covered for a lengthy amount of time before the hometown Cleveland Cavaliers selected him. But with how Wojnarowski was talking, he surpasses what James was back during the draft process.
Wojnarowski goes past basketball and says all sports. People discussed hockey’s Connor Bedard in a similar fashion, with the Chicago Blackhawks winning out for him. Football and baseball have had those type of prospects in the past but none in recent times.
San Antonio Spurs win NBA Draft lottery, expected to pick Victor Wembanyama
Three teams held a 14% chance of landing the first overall pick. The San Antonio Spurs were one of them after finishing the 2022-2023 season with a 22-60 record. Only Detroit and Houston finished worse but did not have the ping pong balls bounce their way on Tuesday night.
San Antonio will once again have the first pick and will select Wembanyama in a heartbeat. The franchise has a good record being in this position, taking Hall of Fame players David Robertson and Tim Duncan. Multiple NBA championships were won with those two under head coach Greg Popovich.
Now, they are hoping the same can be said about Wembanyama when things are said than done. There will be a ton of pressure to live up to the hype but joining an organization such as the Spurs makes the likelihood greater.
