Towering French teenager Victor Wembanyama has declared for the NBA Draft and submitted all the necessary documentation. The 7ft 5ins Metropolitans 29 star is one of the hottest prospects in basketball right now. His announcement is big news and comparable only to LeBron James declaring for the NBA Draft in 2003.
Would Play for Any Team that Chooses Him
The 19-year-old said that he still couldn’t get his head around what he was doing now and that declaring for the draft was something crazy that he wasn’t realizing yet.
Wembanyama, who is averaging 21 points and almost 10 rebounds per game for the Metropolitans 29, claimed he knew he wanted to play in the NBA since he was a child, but that the whole thing was becoming more real each day and now the dream was within his reach.
But where in the NBA will the future top pick play? The San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, and Houston Rockets are all with a chance of having the right to that number-one selection.
However, Wembanyama is not picky. He said he just wanted to play in the NBA, as there weren’t bad organizations in the league and no wrong destinations.
Could Add $500 Million to a Franchise’s Value
As impressive as Wembanyama’s statistics and height are, they are not the only thing about the French teenager. Sure, he scores and rebounds more than most players his age and is taller than 7ft 1ins Shaquille O’Neal. However, he also has other things going for him.
He has a wingspan of eight feet, bigger than all other players in the league right now. That makes him a menace in attack but a formidable force in defense too.
Wembanyama is also a very marketable figure. With an Instagram following of 1.3 million and TikTok posts that get as many as 15 million views, he is the ideal young star for any NBA organization.
NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski labeled Wembanyama “the singular greatest prospect in NBA draft history.” Wojnarowski claimed NBA executives predicted that he could boost the value of a franchise by as much as $500 million. He said that Wembanyama was “so advanced skillwise” that there was no one like him in history.
LeBron is in Awe Too
LeBron James has also heaped praise on Wembanyama. In October, the LA Lakers star watched the French teenager take part in an exhibition game in Las Vegas.
After witnessing the player’s athleticism and talent first-hand, LeBron said that Wembanyama was “more like an alien”and that he was definitely “a generational talent.” And LeBron would know.