Victor Wembanyama's upside leaves no debate over top pick in NBA Draft

NEW YORK (AP)— Victor Wembanyama walked into hisfirstNBA news conferenceWednesday morning, took his seat andlooked out at a maze of cameras and microphones that have beenawaiting him for years.

And then hesmiled.

“What’s up,everyone?” the French teen said.

Seemingpoised and completely ready for what awaits him, Wembanyama’s NBAchapter is now underway. The NBA draft — one thatWembanyama’stoweringshadow has hung over for months, blocking much of what is usuallypart of the process — is Thursday night, and he’ll be selected No.1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.

“Ever since Iknew about the draft, exactly how it worked, I wanted to be first,”Wembanyama said Wednesday. “I think I started to realize I could bea professional basketball player at the age of 12. Tomorrow,something’s going to happen, something that I’ve been thinking(about) for years and years, I can’t really describe how I feelright now. I just know I’m going to have trouble sleeping tonight,for sure.”

There hasbeen no debate aboutwhothe Spurs should takewith the No. 1 pick, no discussionof which player might be a better fit, no real attempts to raiseany red flags about the presumed selection.

When a playerlike Wembanyama comes along — and maybe none ever has — there’s noreal reason to drum up any drama. The Spurs are not going to passup someone who is listed at 7-foot-4 but has the skills of a playermuch smaller.

The decisionis certain, but not official until Commissioner Adam Silver saysWembanyama’s name Thursday night. And Wembanyama playfullycorrected a reporter in New York on Wednesday who welcomed him toSan Antonio.

“Not thereyet,” Wembanyama said. “But thank you.”

The19-year-old from France has been called the best prospect sinceLeBron James came out of high school 20 years ago, perhaps withsome physical gifts that even the NBA’s career scoring leaderdidn’t possess.

Expectationsfrom the outside world are sky-high. Wembanyama insists that won’tbother him.

“I don’t letall this stuff get into my head,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve got suchhigh expectations for myself that I’m immune to all this stuff. Ireally don’t care.”

He arrivedMonday in the New York area, surprised that some fans were waitingfor him when he landed at Newark Liberty InternationalAirport.On Tuesday, there was his firstsubway ride — even hopping a turnstile as he exited, though thepolice who were flanking him didn’t complain — and a trip to YankeeStadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch; it was well out ofthe strike zone. And on Wednesday morning, before his NBA dutiesbegan, he had a weightlifting workout with a coach.

He has been abig kid in a grown-up world. He signs autographs with a smile,pokes fun at himself, doesn’t mind that everyone tends to stare atsomeone of his height.

“Crazy,” hesaid of that first subway ride, with New Yorkers all aroundhim.

Let thecraziness begin. Silver will call his name Thursday night, shakehis hand, and before too long Wembanyama will be on a plane for SanAntonio to start the first chapter of his NBA life. Wembanyama saidhe will play in Summer League that starts in early July, though itremains unclear if he’ll be participating with the Spurs in theSacramento summer league, the primary NBA Summer League in LasVegas, or both.

“Wembanyamais built for the modern game,” said analyst Jay Bilas, who has beenpart of ESPN’s coverage for every draft since James topped the 2003one. “We’ve never seen anything quite like him on a basketballfloor.”

The modernNBA game requires big men to be comfortable playing away from thebasket, able to handle the ball and defend opponents on theperimeter. It’s a league where 7-footer Nikola Jokicjustguided the Denver Nuggetsto their first championship bybecoming the first player to lead the postseason in total points,rebounds and assists, where first-team All-Defense centers JarenJackson Jr. and Brook Lopez block shots on one end and shoot3-pointers on the other.

Wembanyamacan seemingly do all that. He was the MVP and Defensive Player ofthe Year in the French league, leading the league in scoring,rebounding and blocks. The almost-unbelievable highlights of someof those plays, a slam or a swat when he seemed too far away topull it off even with his enormous wingspan, had basketball fansand even future opponents on both sides of the Atlantic buzzingthroughout the season.

He will go toa San Antonio team that won five titles after selecting Tim Duncanthe last time it had the No. 1 pick in 1997. Duncan is a Hall ofFamer and one of the best power forwards in NBA history, and maybeit’s too much to ask Wembanyama to become quite like that.

But he’s thebest of the bunch this year, and maybe of the last 20 years.

“I’m tryingto be the best,” Wembanyama said. “Being the best, it’s not only onthe court. There’s whole dimensions in the job of basketballplayer, an NBA player. I want to be the best also at the media, thepress conference, all this stuff. I don’t like to do thingshalfway.”

Charlotte isexpected to decide between Alabama forward Brandon Miller and GLeague Ignite guard Scoot Henderson with No. 2, with Portlandperhaps taking the other at No. 3. The Rockets and Pistons roundout the top five.

Those teamshave been recent regulars near the top of the draft and should addanother good young player for new coaches Ime Udoka in Houston andMonty Williams in Detroit. But those clubs shared the best oddswith the Spurs of winning the No. 1 pick in last month’s draftlottery, so there was disappointment to wipe away before thinkingahead.

That’sbecause, while every draft has good players, very few will everoffer the chance to draft one like Wembanyama.

Just asksomeone who would know.

“Everybody’sbeen a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like analien,” James said last fall. “No one has ever seen anyone as tallas he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on thefloor.”

James willget an up-close view this coming season when he plays against theSpurs. So will the rest of the league. Wembanyama’s time startsnow, and he sounds as ready as can be.

“I just feelreally, really lucky to be able just to live this life,” Wembanyamasaid. “I’m just so lucky.”