Calay News
The NBA is gearing up for the most anticipated draft lottery in decades, which will determine which team will have the opportunity to select the talented French player Victor Wembanyama, considered the most promising basketball player since LeBron James. With labels such as “unicorn,” “alien,” and “video game player,” Wembanyama has captured the attention of prominent figures in the basketball world, such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who have praised his unprecedented skills.
At 19 years old, Wembanyama does not yet know on which team he will begin his professional career, as he will have to wait until the draft ceremony on June 22 in Brooklyn. However, he is expected to be selected by the winning team in the lottery, an event that will be held in Chicago and broadcast live. Both the NBA, which has been promoting Wembanyama for months, and the player himself make no secret of their conviction that he will be the first Frenchman to be selected number one in the draft.
While this generation of young players also boasts other promising standouts, such as point guard Scoot Henderson, the NBA has generated enormous buzz around Wembanyama’s arrival. Not since LeBron James, dubbed “The Chosen One,” has a teenage player received so much attention in basketball, with nationally broadcast games and unprecedented coverage. Even the NBA has begun broadcasting the games of Wembanyama’s team, the Metropolitans 92 of the French league, on its platforms, which is unusual for a foreign player.
Several teams have been looking to position themselves near the bottom of the standings in hopes of landing a gem like Wembanyama. The NBA offers the worst-performing teams the highest odds of being selected at the top of the draft, which has led some franchises to take steps to lose games, known as a “tanking” strategy. Although the NBA has tried to avoid this practice, this season it has intensified. The lottery will involve the 14 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs, and the Pistons, Rockets, and Spurs have the best chance of winning the sweepstakes.
While teams yearn to land a transformative talent, Wembanyama says he has no preference over which team selects him, believing that a player destined for greatness will succeed no matter where he falls.
