LAS VEGAS — Victor Wembanyama’s top players in the NBA at the moment are Kevin Durant Giannis Antetokounmpo. It makes sense since they are both taller and more athletic than the rest of the league.
He may see some similarities.
Wembanyama does not seek to make comparisons with them or any other player. According to most reports, Wembanyama would be the No. 2 pick when the 7-foot-2 French teenager arrives in the NBA next season. If the draft were to be held today, he wouldn’t be the 1 pick.
He said that the path he chooses to take, in an interview with The Associated Press.
Wembanyama explained, “I’m going gonna tell you something which has been happening in my life since I was a child, even before basketball.” “I have always tried (something) new. I don’t even mean sports. Whatever field I work in, I try to be different, something unique, something unique one-of-one, and something that has never been done before. This is how my life has worked. It’s not clear where it came from. It’s something that I was born with. I’ve always wanted to be original. Unique is the best word.
He said that his goal was to look like something he’s never seen.
He may already be that.
Metropolitans 92, a French team representing the top league, flew 5,500 miles to play a pair exhibition games against the G League and Scoot Henderson, another top draft prospect. The Ignite has not started their season yet. The Metropolitans have played three games and will interrupt their regular season to play these exhibitions in Henderson, Nevada. This is primarily to introduce Wembanyama and the U.S. basketball community to Wembanyama.
Tuesday night will simply be an event. There will be 200 scouts credentialed. Each NBA team will be there, many with multiple people. Some clubs had executives who watched practice Monday afternoon. Journalists from Canada, Brazil, and France flew in for these games. They don’t count towards any player’s standings. The Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns Play a preseason match in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. Some players from these clubs will be able to visit Wembanyama and some of the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.
Jason Hart, the Ignite coach said that “it’s good for our game.” “It’s great for their program, as well as ours. I’m so excited.”
Wembanyama’s height is listed as 7-foot-2. Some say he is 7-foot-4. His wingspan measures nearly 8 feet. He can almost grab the rim, 10 feet up, without even jumping. He can shoot 3-pointers without difficulty, and is almost never bothered by defenders whose flailing hands are not even close to the ball or his field vision. He is able to run on the floor. He can handle the ball. He passes the ball. Creative. Athletic, with the genes passed down from Felix Wembanyama, Elodie de Fautereau. His dad is a track star and his mom is a basketball legend.
Since then, very few prospects, if any, have been available. LeBron James This 18-year old had such a strong identity in 2003.
Wembanyama stated, “I was made for this, I suppose.” “All of the things that happen to me, I anticipated for myself. This is just a list of my expectations. I am not surprised at what is happening to me. This is what is happening. I know how to manage it, and I think it went well.
He speaks almost perfect English and will be able to move to the U.S. or Canada next June at 19-1/2. It is hard for him to believe that he still has only a few more months in France.
He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the past and future. He is confident in his speech, confident in his playing, and enjoys all that the world has to offer. However, his confidence doesn’t come from arrogance. He is confident that he is good. He wants to be better.
Vincent Collet, Metropolitans 92 coach, is here to help. The coach of France’s national football team has the responsibility of taking Wembanyama into the NBA, and making sure that he is as NBA-ready next summer as possible.
He said that many people around him were always saying to him, “It’s great. What you do is amazing.” Collet stated that he is the coach and that he should be the one to tell him, “This is not the best, you can do better.” “For me, teaching him is the most important thing.”
Wembanyama attempts to be all business when he is on the court.
When he’s not on the court, he still tries his best to be a kid.
He loves to read. He enjoys drawing. He plays video games. He demonstrated soccer moves using a basketball Monday. This is when one flicks the ball up with one’s foot and leg, but not letting it touch the ground. He said that some of his projects had nothing to do in basketball. When asked what that meant, he smiled slightly and said, “If they’re successful you’ll hear more about them.”
The French season will resume at home after this week in Vegas. He will be following every Metropolitans 92 game. The draft conversation will heat up this spring. The NBA commissioner Adam Silver will then walk to a lectern on June 22, 2023 and say “with our first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft…”. If everything goes according to plan Wembanyama will be there for the ceremonial handshake.
Then, his path to becoming “one of the one” will truly begin.
Wembanyama stated that “At the end, regardless of which position you are selected in the draft,” the most important thing is to have a successful career afterward. “But as an athlete, and as a competitor I cannot accept to not be No. 1.”