Who is Victor Wembanyama, the new phenomenon of the NBA – 06/21/2023 – Sport

The NBA Draft, the night of the North American Basketball League’s rookie draft, is always surrounded by anticipation. One by one, the teams select the young people enrolled in the process, with their eyes focused especially on the owner of the first choice: who will be the athlete whose name will be on envelope number one?

It is not exactly the case of Wednesday (22). The journey is, yes, eagerly awaited, but not because there is any doubt about what the San Antonio Spurs will do. On the paper delivered by the Texan club will be written “Victor Wembanyama”.

The 19-year-old Frenchman is the player coming into the NBA with the greatest prospects since LeBron James appeared two decades ago. The 2.25m center is seen as a talent capable of dominating the sport, a modern behemoth, well suited to what basketball has become throughout this century.

Wembanyama has unusual – not to say unprecedented – mobility for someone his size. Ball control and the ability to create shooting situations also draw attention. The long-range shooting still has inconsistencies, but analysts of the US championship are certain that he will become an elite shooter.

There will certainly be an adjustment period, a learning curve, particularly in attack. In the other half of the court, with his lateral movement, his intelligence to understand angles and his enormous wingspan of 2.43 m, he will already debut, by all indications, as a first-class defender.

“There’s been a lot of unicorns in the last few years,” LeBron observed, referring to the expression adopted for rare athletes in basketball, especially big guys with point guard ability. “Well, he’s more of an alien. I’ve never seen anyone as tall as he is but at the same time fluid and graceful on the court.”

Victor thanked him, saying he didn’t like being called a unicorn. “I prefer [alienígena], because it is simply something that is not of this world. It’s really what I’ve been working towards being: something unique and original,” she replied.

This world is not the one it was in 2003, when James arrived in the NBA – and Wembanyama was not yet born. The reach of social networks made the Frenchman’s moves in Europe “viral”. There were commotions like the one in which he tried to shoot a three, jumping back, and took advantage of his own rebound for a first-time dunk.

“Coverage is exponential, more than it ever was for those players who have historically come in with huge anticipation,” said the league’s top official, commissioner Adam Silver. “It’s going to be huge. I was with him in Paris in January. And frankly, when you’re eight feet tall, you attract attention, all focus. He’s used to that.”

Even before the Draft, traditionally held in New York, the aspiring NBA star experienced the American spotlight. Last Tuesday (20), he gave the ceremonial opening pitch at Yankee Stadium in the baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners.

Basketball shots he will make from July 3, when San Antonio will debut in the NBA Summer League, a series of friendlies played by freshmen and prospects for freshmen in the league. The Spurs will play in Sacramento, and tickets have already sold for more than $500 (about R$2,400), something unprecedented in the summer championship.

Victor will have a most respected tutor in the United States. Gregg Popovich, 74, is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time and has an excellent track record working with centers such as David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Five-time NBA champion, Popovich had been dealing with limited-quality rosters in recent years. Now, he will have a giant jewel in his hands, the son of a long jumper and a basketball player who taught him the fundamentals of the sport.

Wembanyama was, in the most recent season, named the best player in the French league. With averages of 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3 blocks, he led Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 to the final, which did not resist against the more powerful Monaco.

But it wasn’t because of Monaco that the organization of the championship took the decision to the Roland Garros complex, the traditional stage of tennis in Paris. The more than 14,000 people who paid for tickets went to see the prodigy’s farewell on his journey to basketball’s biggest stage.

Athletes who arrive at the NBA surrounded by expectations do not always fulfill them. There is no lack of examples of young people with great potential who failed, due to mental or physical barriers.

Victor has a history of injuries that include a stress fracture in his shin. It is likely that he needs to gain muscle mass – his 107 kg, distributed by 225 kg, are below the standard observed in the main championship of the modality.

But we are facing an alien. And who is saying this is LeBron James.