Except for a physical glitch, in the eyes of the NBA scouts who have come by the dozens to observe him in recent days, the debate is settled.
Victor Wembanyama will be the first pick of the NBA Draft in June 2023. If there was any doubt, it is cleared up.
But what is the Draft?
To put it simply, the 30 franchises in the league will choose among the best young players on the planet to strengthen themselves and the Frenchman will be the number 1 choice. The one who will tear himself away.
Not all franchises, however, will be able to because the system is complicated.
To simplify to the extreme, the weaker teams have the right to choose the strongest and most promising players first to rebalance the forces.
This means that Wembanyama will not play with Stephen Curry at the Golden State Warriors or with Giannis Antetokounmpo at Milwaukee, the two favorites this season.
He will shine in a less flashy team.
Which ?
It's going to jostle at the gate.
“I know that many teams are salivating at the idea that they could recover it”, confirms Adam Silver, the big boss of the NBA also baba in front of the French.
Reputed to be one of the best specialists in the league, US journalist Adrian Wojnarowski confirms: “He is the greatest prospect the NBA has ever seen.
All the teams will put themselves in position to be able to draft him, that's obvious.
Recruiting such a player will suddenly increase the value of a franchise by 500 million dollars!
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- Drafter Wembanyama would add at least $500 million to the value of a franchise.
- A lot of players will be released early in the season, with some teams absolutely not wanting to win anymore.
- One of the (very) rare players who impacted the NBA before his arrival.
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Only to have Wembanyama, the franchises will have to miss their season to finish in the last.
Many are already ready to do so.
“Yes clearly, teams will not want to win to have a chance of having Wembanyama.
Rare are the players like him who impact the NBA so much before even having set foot there, ”continues our colleague.
It's crazy.
So where will “Wemby” be playing in a year?
At the moment, Americans who bet everything are predicting the Oklahoma Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Indianapolis Pacers and Utah Jazz who lost Rudy Gobert to the off season.