"They sell out in 30 seconds" - Top NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama might be the most sought-after athlete in France
Victor Wembanyama is predicted to be the first pick in the NBA Draft with rebuilding teams seeking a culture-changing type of athlete, resulting in either gaining more attention from the fanbase or having a winning formula in the years to come.
Dating back to the hype surrounding LeBron James in 2003 and Zion Williamson in 2019, because both looked like generational talents, the same is now being said towards Victor Wembanyama as the draft approaches on June 22.
In a Wall Street Journal article by Joshua Robinson, Mets fan Théopile Belivier gave his thoughts on the 7-foot-3 athlete.
"They sell out in 30 seconds," Belivier said. "I set alarms to get on the site right away."
Due to the hype surrounding Wembanyama, stadiums around France are always packed with fans eager to see the French athlete hoop. With a versatile playing style of shooting prowess, defensive versatility and incredible height, Wembanyana is the type of athlete whom fans have to see to believe it.
Victor Wembanyana garnered attention dating back to an electric performance, dropping a combined 73 points in two October exhibition games in Las Vegas. He had 37 points and five blocks in the first game, then followed with 36 points and 11 rebounds in the second.
NBA teams tanking for Victor Wembanyama
With the anticipation of Patrick Ewing's entry into the league in 1985, the NBA instituted a draft lottery as a measure against teams intentionally losing games to have the best shot to land the No. 1 pick.
The NBA currently has a draft lottery, with the bottom three teams guaranteed an equal percentage of landing the top pick, as well as a play-in tournament, allowing more teams to stay in the postseason race for longer.
In Victor Wembanyama's situation, there are NBA teams that have been eagerly anticipating and preparing for the French prospect's predraft season.
The San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz made it abundantly clear since last offseason that they would be tanking for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
Both teams traded their best players, with the Spurs moving Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Jazz trading Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both teams needed a "culture change" for role players, draft picks and the possibility of landing Victor Wembanyama.
The Jazz, however, started this season 10-3 and were 27-26 on Feb. 1. Utah (36-43) is 9-17 since. As it stands now, Utah would finish the season with the eighth-worst record, giving the Jazz a 4.5% chance at the No. 1 pick.
The Detroit Pistons (16-64), Spurs (20-59) and Houston Rockets (20-60) will finish with the three worst records and will all have a 14.0% chance at the top pick when the draft lottery is held on May 16. The Charlotte Hornets (26-54) will end up with the NBA's fourth-worst record and have a 12.5% chance.
The NBA draft is June 22.