It is three o'clock in the morning, this May 17 on the Champs-Elysées. Victor Wembanyama learned half an hour earlier of the result of the NBA lottery. The San Antonio Spurs won the first pick of the draft and will officially recruit on June 22, the French prodigy, the one that the American media already qualify as "the best hope in the history of the sport".
For our colleagues at beIN Sports, Wemby gave his first reaction: "I saw teams pass six, five, four, three, two (the teams that preceded Spurs in the lottery result) and I was happy to see them pass". We can conclude that he did not want to go to Detroit, Houston or Portland. And that Spurs clearly had his preference: "I'm very happy with the result," he confirms.
đź‘€ @vicw_32 is already eager to learn alongside the legend Gregg Popovich! #interview @SoFrenchProd pic.twitter.com/BO8NY0He7S
— NBAextra (@NBAextra) May 17, 2023
Victor Wembanyama, who was born in 2004, was not yet born when Tony Parker was drafted in 2001 by the Spurs. But he grew up seeing the best French player of all time - perhaps before him - shine in the black and silver jersey of the Texas franchise. Like all French people, he is attached to the Spurs more than to any other franchise: "What San Antonio reminds me of is first and foremost a solid and loyal "fan base" despite the ups and downs of the team lately. Above all, there is a history and a culture of winning like nowhere else."
He continues: "I grew up seeing the success of this team. I remember the finals around 2013 and I remember Ray Allen's shot (Editor's note: then a Miami player, he scored at the buzzer against the Spurs in 2013, the basket of victory in the NBA finals). For me, it was the bad guy's basket because he won against Tony Parker."
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After Pascal Donnadieu, TJ Parker and Vincent Collet to name only his coaches in the pros, Wembanyama will discover the Popovich method in Texas. "If everything goes well," he smiles, still on beIN Sports, "this will be it. It's an honour. From what I have heard, he demands but I have one certainty, it is that he is good and that until proven otherwise, he has more experience than me. If I have the chance to be coached by "Pop", it will be with great humility and excitement. As of June 23, Wemby will land in a franchise lacking results that awaits him as the Messiah: "In basketball and the NBA, we see teams that go from one year to the next from the bottom of the table to the Conference Finals. I have nothing to worry about that. What is important is that the culture there is strong. »
Before playing his first game with Spurs at the end of October, the Frenchman's schedule is busy. He began with the conquest of the title of champion of France with Boulogne-Levallois. He cares about it.