Yahoo Movies Who Is Victor Wembanyama? The NBA’s Most Hyped Draft Pick Since LeBron James Is 'a True Game-Changer'
At 7-foot-4, 19-year-old French star will likely be drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday night's NBA Draft
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Victor WembanyamaThe NBA’s next big thing is here.
Victor Wembanyama, the highly-touted 19-year-old center from France, is expected to be drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs when the NBA Draft takes place Thursday night.
The 7-foot-4 phenom has been said to be the most sought-after NBA prospect since LeBron James entered the league in 2003, blending his tall frame with a mobile and athletic playing style. He’s “like an alien,” James, 38, said last year about the incoming star.
Called a “generational” talent by most experts, the teenage basketball star has played professionally in France since he was 16 years old. Now, Wembanyama will join the NBA, where he’s widely expected to become a star.
Here’s what to know about Wembanyama ahead of tonight’s draft.
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Victor WembanyamaHe Comes From a Basketball Family
Born in the Parisian suburb of Le Chesnay, the French big man comes from an athletic family. Wembanyama’s mother, Elodie de Fautereau, is a basketball coach and taught him how to play the game at a young age. Wembanyama’s older sister Eve, his younger brother Oscar, his grandfather Michel de Fautereau and his grandmother Marie Christine all played basketball as well. Wembanyama’s father, Félix, was also a track and field athlete.
“Basketball has always been around,” Wembanyama told Slam Magazine last year. “I can’t avoid it in my family.”
Related: Victor Wembanyama, the NBA's Presumptive No. 1 Draft Pick, Botches 1st Pitch at Yankee Stadium
He Was Recruited After Being Mistaken for a Coach
Wembanyama was so tall as a 10-year-old that the coach of Nanterre basketball club, Michael Allard, mistook him for an assistant coach when he was watching his youth team play in Versailles. Once Allard saw Wembanyama get up and check into the game, he called Frédéric Donnadieu with the Nanterre 92 pro team and told him to recruit the imposing prospect, according to RMC Sport in France.
Wembanyama Rose to Fame Playing In France and Spain
Wembanyama agreed to join Nanterre 92’s youth development academy and honed a unique skill set for a player his size. “He adapted really quickly,” one of his former coaches Bryan George told Slam. “Victor was never afraid to speak his mind and talk to adults.”
Wembanyama continued improving and was loaned to the Spanish league to play for FC Barcelona Bàsquet, where NBA stars like Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio once played. But he soon returned to France and turned pro in 2019, playing for Nanterre in the country’s top LNB Pro A league. Last season, Wembanyama was named MVP – the youngest in league history – while both leading the league in scoring and being named its top defensive player.
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Victor Wembanyama
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Victor WembanyamaWhat NBA Star’s Have Said About Him
Riding the wave of a historic 2022-23 season in France, Wembanyama has already made a splash within the NBA without even making his debut. The league’s top stars – from James to Giannis Antetokounmpo to Kevin Durant – have all fawned over Wembanyama’s abilities ahead of the draft. "The league's really in trouble when he comes in,” Durant told Sports Illustrated.
“Get ready, because if you’re not ready, this kid is going to be a problem,” Antetokounmpo told fellow NBA star Serge Ibaka on his interview show. “A big problem…I’ve never seen this before in my life.”
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He’ll Be One of the Tallest NBA Players Ever
Wembanyama will literally be a “big” problem for his opponents, arriving in the league at a towering 7-foot-4. The NBA says there have only been nine other players to play more than 100 games in the league, including Yao Ming and Boban Marjanovic. But unlike other big men before him, Wembanyama’s shooting skills and rare agility as a center have had NBA teams “salivating” at the opportunity to draft him, according to league commissioner Adam Silver: “He certainly has all the attributes of a true game-changer.”
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