Spurs select 7’4″ giant Victor Wembanyama first overall in 2023 NBA Draft
June 23, 2023
According to TMZ Sports on Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs have selected power forward and center Victor Wembanyama of Le Chesnay, France first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. It was widely expected that Wembanyama would be selected first overall, and on Thursday, everything came to fruition.
The reason why it was expected is because of Wembanyama’s height, as he is 7’4″. To put everything into perspective, he is only three inches shorter than the two tallest basketball players of all-time–Gheorghe Mursean of Tritenii de Jos, Romania and Manute Bol of Turalei, Sudan, who were each at 7’7″. One must realize at 19 years of Wembanyama might still grow to be even taller.
Wembanyama dominated the Pro A season in France this past year for the Metropolitans 92. He was the league’s most valuable player, the league’s best young player, the best defender, the best scorer, and the best blocker. Wembanyama averaged 21.6 points per game. The Metropolitans made the Pro A finals, but lost to Monaco. A year earlier in 2021-22, Wembanyama played for LDLC ASVEL. He was the Pro A’s best young player that season too, and helped LDLC ASVEL win a championship as LDLC ASVEL beat Monaco three games to two. Wembanyama played alongside former Phoenix Suns guard Elie Okobo of Bordeaux, France during his time with LDLC ASVEL.
Wembanyama is the first ever player from France drafted first overall. It is the second straight year a European player was drafted first. Last season, the Orlando Magic selected forward Paolo Banchero, who is of Italian descent.
It should also be noted that Wembanyama will be working alongside head coach Gregg Popovich, who is the NBA’s all-time leader in coaching wins. All of Popovich’s 1364 career wins have come with the Spurs.
Fill In The Form Below To Receive Our NBA News Straight To Your Email For FREE!
February 20, 2025
FREE: Rosehill Tip Sheet & Staking Plan: Saturday 22nd February
Saturday Metropolitan racing in New South Wales heads to Randwick for 10 races with the first to commence at 12:30pm local time, the feature race of the day is the Group 2 Silver Read MoreFebruary 20, 2025
Our three best tips for the 2025 Mexican Open
The PGA Tour leaves the United States for the first time this year with the Mexican Open set to take place at Vallarta One interesting storyline is that the purse for the event has actually dropped Read MoreFebruary 20, 2025
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.