Spurs win NBA Draft Lottery and right to draft Victor Wembanyama

CHICAGO (AP)— Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the SanAntonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1overall pick on Tuesday night.

The Spurswere one of three teams with the best odds — 14% — to land the No.1 pick, which they’ll almost certainly use on Wembanyama. The7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly toutedprospects in NBA history and will be expected to make an immediateimpact on the league.

And he had amessage for San Antonio.

“I’m tryingto win a ring ASAP,” Wembanyama told ESPN after the lotteryresults. “So be ready.”

It’s thethird time the Spurs have won the lottery, and on both previousoccasions they made picks that paid off for decades. They choseDavid Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997, and those selectionswere a major part of how the Spurs became a team that won five NBAtitles under coach Gregg Popovich.

“Our futurewas already bright,” Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt said.“Now, it’s going to be through the moon.”

Generalmanager Brian Wright called it “an incredible day” for thefranchise and the fans.

Charlottewill pick second, Portland moved up to third, and Houston fell tofourth.

“This draftis a deep, talented one,” Trail Blazers general manager Joe Croninsaid. “We know picks one through six there’s always gems to befound, but to move up into the top three is really exciting.”

As forgetting the No. 1 pick in a year like this?

“People talkabout generational talents and you only think on-court skill, butit’s bigger than that,” Wright said. “Peter talked about hisability to be a great teammate, his ability to think the game,unique challenges. You see him doing things that you wouldn’t haveeven guessed someone could do — his approach, his professionalism.I think when you use the word generational talent, it extendsbeyond just your ability to put the ball in the basket. And he’sunique in so many ways.”

The Spurswere 22-60 this season, tied for the second-worst record in theNBA. Popovich and the Spurs have had incredible success withinternational players in the past — most notably, Manu Ginobili andTony Parker, who owns the French team that Wembanyama played forlast season.

“He’s anincredible young man,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN aspart of its draft lottery broadcast. “He’s 19 years old and Ididn’t take out a yardstick or meter stick or whatever they use inFrance, but he seemed all of 7-4 to me. … He clearly appears to bea generational talent.”

Wembanyamafinished his regular season with Boulogne-Levallois of France’s toppro league earlier Tuesday, his 22-point effort good enough for himto clinch the league’s scoring title. It was shortly past 2 a.m.Wednesday in Paris when the lottery results were revealed, andWembanyama was gathered with family and friends for acelebration.

“Can’t reallydescribe it,” Wembanyama said in his interview with ESPN, adding“it’s a really special moment.”

Finally, heknows where his NBA journey will begin. His agents did not respondto multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press.

“I think theteam that has the first choice isn’t going to get it wrong,” saidVincent Collet, Wembanyama’s coach in France and also the coach ofthe French national team — which Wembanyama is expected to play forthis summer at the World Cup and next summer at the 2024 ParisOlympics.

Detroit hadthe worst record in the NBA and was one of the three teams with thebest odds of winning. The Pistons wound up falling all the way tofifth, the worst of their possible outcomes.

The rest ofthe lottery order: Orlando will pick sixth, Indiana seventh,Washington eighth, Utah ninth, Dallas 10th, Orlando (from Chicagoas part of an earlier trade) in 11th, Oklahoma City 12th, Toronto13th, and New Orleans 14th.

Wembanyama iswrapping up his third professional season in France and has beenthe consensus top pick for months. He has the height of a center,the shooting touch of a wing and the passing ability of a pointguard.

He wasn’t atthe lottery because of his game schedule in France. But many of theother top prospects — Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite,Brandon Miller of Alabama, twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson ofthe Overtime Elite program — were in the room to watch the lotteryresults get unveiled and get a little better idea of where they maybe heading to start their NBA careers.