French basketball prospect Victor Wembanyama is widely regarded as the early favorite to be the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft, but he hasn’t gotten much experience vs. the rest of the class. However, that will soon change.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports Wembanyama’s new team, Metropolitans 92 from Paris, will travel to Nevada to play a few exhibition games on ESPN vs. G League Ignite on Oct. 4 and 6 . That means those games will feature Wembanyama vs. Scoot Henderson, who is currently the No. 2-ranked prospect in the 2023 draft class.
Henderson is preparing for his second season with Ignite after reclassifying last May to play last season. He’s returning to the G League this year as the team prepares to play a full G League schedule for the first time. Last year, Henderson played in just 10 games, averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in over 31 minutes.
While the two players play different positions, Wembanyama being a forward and Henderson being a guard, it will probably be the only time the top two prospects in the draft play in the same game before they join the league. It will also be America’s first look at Wembanyama as the 18-year old has only played overseas up to this point.
The college basketball season often features matchups between future lottery picks. However, this year, the most hyped match between prospects will happen before the college basketball season begins.
