Victor Wembanyama: NBA Draft might clash with French league finals / News - Basketnews.com

If the projected NBA no.1 pick Victor Wembanyama makes the French league finals, he might get on a tight schedule balancing the ceremony and the decisive games of the series.

Credit: Reuters - Scanpix Credit Reuters - Scanpix

Victor Wembanyama is still months away from two biggest goals of the season, but the current French league calendar might put him on a tight schedule.

Per BasketNews sources, the current French league finals series is scheduled around the NBA draft night.

The 2023 NBA Draft will be held on June 22. Meanwhile, the best-of-five French league finals series is scheduled to conclude on June 24. Game 4 is set on June 21.

Wembanyama might be forced to hop on a crazy ride. His team, Metropolitans 92 Boulogne-Levallois, is tied for 2nd place in the French league standings.

If Wembanyama goes deep in the playoffs, he'll seek advice from a fellow Frenchman, Frank Ntilikina.

Five years ago, former Strasbourg SIG point guard Frank Ntilikina traveled to Paris and flew to New York the following morning of Game 4 of the French league finals.

He made the NBA Draft ceremony on Thursday, got called 8th by Adam Silver, and jumped on a private flight straight after the event to make the finals Game 5 on Friday.

Ntilikina's agent Olivier Mazet then told The Post that he was a part of many French officials who would petition for the league finals never again to conclude after the NBA Draft.

Mazet and others didn't manage to achieve their goal. Last year, the French league finals finished on June 25.

However, if Wembanyama will make the French league finals, the calendar might be adjusted, sources say BasketNews.

Due to the French league, Ntilikina couldn't work out for the NBA teams before the draft. However, that's not going to be an issue for Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is projected to be the 1st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

He put on a show on Sunday vs. AS Monaco. The Hollywood star Michael Douglas witnessed Wembanyama's 27-point (11/15 2PT, 0/5 3PT) and 11-rebound performance over currently the 2nd-best ranked EuroLeague team.

Wembanyama leads the French league in points (23.6), rebounds (9.4), blocked shots (2.8), and efficiency (26.9).

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