Current:Home > MarketsSan Antonio Spurs win NBA draft lottery and opportunity to select Victor Wembanyama-LoTradeCoin
San Antonio Spurs win NBA draft lottery and opportunity to select Victor Wembanyama
View Date:2024-12-24 00:24:40
Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night.
The Spurs were one of three teams with the best odds — 14% — to land the No. 1 pick, which they'll almost certainly use on Wembanyama. The 7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history and will be expected to make an immediate impact on the league.
Immediately following the lottery results, an excited Wembanyama, who was in France surrounded by family and friends, told ESPN that he "loves Texas."
"I've been there before. I'm really happy," he said. "I really can't wait to meet the fans and to meet the team, hopefully, I'm going to join in June."
It's the third time the Spurs have won the lottery, and on both previous occasions they made picks that paid off for decades. They chose David Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997, and those selections were a major part of how the Spurs became a team that won five NBA titles under coach Gregg Popovich.
"I'm so excited," Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt said.
Charlotte will pick second, Portland will pick third, and Houston will pick fourth.
"He's an incredible young man," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN as part of its draft lottery broadcast. "He's 19 years old and I didn't take out a yardstick or meter stick or whatever they use in France, but he seemed all of 7-4 to me. … He clearly appears to be a generational talent."
The Spurs were 22-60 this season, tied for the second-worst record in the NBA. Popovich and the Spurs have had incredible success with international players in the past – most notably, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, who owns the French team that Wembanyama played for last season.
Wembanyama finished his regular season with Boulogne-Levallois of France's top pro league earlier Tuesday, his 22-point effort good enough for him to clinch the league's scoring title. It was shortly past 2 a.m. Wednesday in Paris when the lottery results were revealed, and Wembanyama was gathered with family and friends for a celebration.
Finally, they know where his NBA journey will begin.
"I think the team that has the first choice isn't going to get it wrong," said Vincent Collet, Wembanyama's coach in France and also the coach of the French national team — which Wembanyama is expected to play for this summer at the World Cup and next summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Detroit had the worst record in the NBA and was one of the three teams with the best odds of winning. The Pistons wound up falling all the way to fifth, the worst of their possible outcomes.
The rest of the lottery order: Orlando will pick sixth, Indiana seventh, Washington eighth, Utah ninth, Dallas 10th, Orlando (from Chicago as part of an earlier trade) in 11th, Oklahoma City 12th, Toronto 13th, and New Orleans 14th.
Wembanyama is wrapping up his third professional season in France and has been the consensus top pick for months. He has the height of a center, the shooting touch of a wing and the passing ability of a point guard.
He wasn't at the lottery because of his game schedule in France. But many of the other top prospects — Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite, Brandon Miller of Alabama, twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson of the Overtime Elite program — were in the room to watch the lottery results get unveiled and get a little better idea of where they may be heading to start their NBA careers.
- In:
- San Antonio Spurs
- NBA Draft
veryGood! (35614)
Related
- Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
- What to watch: Glen Powell's latest is a real disaster
- How to take better photos with your smartphone
- Maryland announces civil lawsuit in case involving demands of sex for rent
- West Virginia governor-elect Morrisey to be sworn in mid-January
- Indianapolis anti-violence activist is fatally shot in vehicle
- 'Brat summer' is upon us. What does that even mean?
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp journeys to Italy in eighth overseas trip
- ‘I got my life back.’ Veterans with PTSD making progress thanks to service dog program
- Rare orange lobster, found at Red Lobster, gets cool name and home at Denver aquarium
Ranking
- Why the US celebrates Veterans Day and how the holiday has changed over time
- Nevada judge who ran for state treasurer pleads not guilty to federal fraud charges
- Federal appeals court dismisses suit challenging Tennessee drag restrictions law
- Political divisions stall proposed gun policies in Pennsylvania, where assassin took aim at Trump
- Wendi McLendon-Covey talks NBC sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' and hospital humor
- Shane Lowry keeps calm and carries British Open lead at Troon
- Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff stops by USA women’s basketball practice
- Pregnant Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes Reveal Sex of Baby No. 3
Recommendation
-
As CFP rankings punish SEC teams, do we smell bias against this proud and mighty league?
-
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg released from jail
-
More Democrats join wave of lawmakers calling on Biden to drop out of 2024 race
-
Suspected arson attack in Nice, France kills 7 members of same family, including 3 children
-
Why have wildfires been erupting across the East Coast this fall?
-
Shannen Doherty's divorce from Kurt Iswarienko was finalized one day before her death
-
Shane Lowry keeps calm and carries British Open lead at Troon
-
Detroit’s giant slide is back. There will probably be fewer bruises this time