If anyone is still questioning whether the large-scale implications surrounding the 2023 draft were a little different, consider that the NBA’s commissioner has already commented openly on its likely No. 1 pick, French megatalent Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama, of course, put on an immense display in two October exhibitions against G League Ignite in Vegas, putting to rest any significant questions surrounding his candidacy as the draft’s top prospect, while also thrusting himself into the pantheon of all-time intriguing teenage players.
“I worry, I think I could be jinxing a player who hasn’t come into the NBA yet by me anointing him as the next great one,” Adam Silver said earlier this month before a preseason game in Dubai. “But [Wembanyama] certainly has all the attributes of a true game-changer. The physical wherewithal. He seems to have the mind to be a great player. He stepped up on that big stage against Team Ignite.
“I know that many of our NBA teams are salivating at the notion that potentially through our lottery that they could get him,” Silver added, with a half-chuckle, “so they should all still compete very hard next season.”
