Wembanyama era begins as Spurs draft French phenom first overall

Agency :
Victor Wembanyama was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs at the NBA Draft in New York on Thursday, making the player seen as a once-in-a-generation talent the highest-drafted French player in league history.
The 19-year-old ‘Wemby’ comes into the league with a buzz that has not been seen since LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, was drafted out of high school 20 years ago.
Wembanyama cried with joy after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called his name at Barclays Center.
“I’ve accomplished something that I’ve been dreaming of my whole life,” he said. “Hearing that sentence from Adam Silver, I dreamed about it. I’ve got to cry.
“This is the best night of my life.”
At 2.24m Wembanyama has the size of a center but the ball handling, passing and shooting abilities of a guard, a jaw-dropping combination with the potential to revolutionize the sport.
He is dangerous shooting the ball from long range and athletic enough to rebound and dunk his own misses.
With a wing span of close to 8 feet, he can block shots and grab rebounds with ease and gets up and down the floor quickly for a player of his size.
Despite his height, he weighs only 104 kilograms and it remains to be seen whether he can bulk up before the regular season kicks off in late October.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will look to further develop his unique skill set in the hopes of resurrecting the storied franchise, which has missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and has not advanced past the opening round since 2017.
“I’ve felt so much love towards me by the Spurs fans,” Wembanyama said.
“I think there’s murals of me in the city of San Antonio. This is so incredible. I could not ask for a better welcome than this. I really love the fan base, man.”
San Antonio has selected first overall twice before, choosing future Basketball Hall of Famers David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. They led the Spurs to two NBA titles, and Duncan won three more with San Antonio.