Much better than a Lotto victory: The San Antonio Spurs won last night in Chicago the NBA lottery, which will allow them to select the player of their choice in the Draft scheduled for June 22. There is no doubt that this player will be Victor Wembanyama, this Frenchman of 2.21 m who has made all the American franchises salivate in recent months.
"A player like you only see one per generation," according to Adam Silver, the boss of the NBA. "An Alien," said "King" LeBron James. A player who is said to transform the game as it is practiced today, who will take his new team to another dimension, and who will allow his future franchise to see its value increase by $ 500M.
"I said it, I said it!" reacted "Wemby", surrounded by his relatives at the headquarters of Nike where the event was broadcast in the middle of the night (2 am in France, 20 hours in the United States), when the last envelope was unsealed, revealing the Spurs as the big winner of the evening. Chance is indeed sometimes loaded with mischievous winks: San Antonio has become a mythical franchise for all French people since Tony Parker settled there in 2001. The best player in the history of French basketball won four NBA championships and a title of best player of the finals (2007). He also met Gregg Popovich, now 74 years old... and always at the helm of the Texas formation.
"San Antonio is Popovich, its work culture and the link with Tony, had anticipated yesterday in our columns Jacques Monclar, former international and consultant BeIN Sports. He considers quitting, but Victor could change his mind. It is a franchise away from the media, which would allow him to work more quietly. »
"The most beautiful day in San Antonio's history"
San Antonio was among the three teams with the highest probability (14%) of winning this lottery. Charlotte (2nd), Portland (3rd), Houston (4th) and Detroit (5th) were less lucky.
In Texas, in this city of 1.5 million people, we exploded with joy. Literally. At the Roo Pub, a huge bar where fans of the team gather, beers flew and the result celebrated as a victory in the World Cup final. "This is the most day in San Antonio's history," said one fan, his eyes reddened. "It's the assurance of 20 years of dominance and qualification for the play-offs," said another. My heart is booming. The online forum of spurstalk.com supporters has bugged much of the night in front of the influx of connections.
The representative of the franchise in Chicago for the draw could not hold back his joy either: when he realized that his city was going to inherit the first pick, Peter J. Holt, chairman of the board of directors of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, first banged on the table in front of him before letting out irrepressible cries: "Woo, let's go, wooooo!" "I'm going to faint," he commented only more calmly moments later. There are so many people following us, a city, fans. I am very happy for them. »
"Get a ring as soon as possible!"
7,000 kilometers away, Victor Wembanyama showed more measure, having fun a good part of the evening with a camera... disposable, but did not hide its ambition. After a hug with Kylian Mbappé, the other great star with the global aura of French sport, present for the occasion, "Wemby" gave his impressions to the American channel ESPN: "It's difficult to describe how I feel. All the people I love are around me. It's a very special moment. I'm going to do everything to win as many games as I can and to get a ring (the NBA championship) as soon as possible. Be prepared! I've been to San Antonio before and I love Texas. »
VIDEO. Victor Wembanyama, the French basketball phenomenon who seduces the NBA
"There is a very special relationship between the France and the Spurs, because of Tony of course and Boris (Diaw) as well," he continued later at the microphone of NBA TV. I know half of the France, if not the entire France, wanted Spurs to have the first pick. When I saw the last envelope, I looked around and saw everyone happy. I'm not going to brag but I knew what was coming. I even checked in this morning, going to train. ''The universe told me!'' (the universe told me). Dreams and intuitions sometimes come true and never go wrong. »
The Spurs' victory in the lottery also validates the choice made by the franchise to "tank" their season, that is to say to sacrifice the results of the last championship to get the maximum chance in the lottery. San Antonio hoped to repeat the successful coup in 1997 with Tim Duncan. The Spurs inherited the first draft pick for the third time in their history, after Duncan in 1997, and David Robinson in 1987. But this time, it's much more than a first draft pick that is available to them. This is the opportunity, in the opinion of many NBA followers, to change the history of their franchise.
