Victor Wembanyama was greeted by thousands of San Antonio Spurs fans in his first visit after the 2023 NBA Draft.
Wembanyama was selected with the No.1 overall pick by the Spurs in Thursday night’s draft at the Barclays Center. The 19-year-old had been playing for the French basketball team Metropolitans 92, and is widely regarded as a potential generational talent.
The Spurs selected Wembanyama with the No.1 pick ahead of the Charlotte Hornets, who drafted Brandon Miller with the No.2 pick. The Portland Trail Blazers then selected Scoot Henderson at No.3, before twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson were selected with the No.4 and No.5 picks by the Houston Rockets and the Detroit Pistons, respectively.
Standing at 7ft 5in tall, Wembanyama made his first trip to San Antonio on Saturday just days after the draft. The teenager was photographed emerging from a private plane at San Antonio International Airport in Texas on Saturday.
Even at the airport, Wembanyama was greeted by dozens of Spurs fans eager to get a glimpse of their team’s newest star. The 19-year-old was also welcomed by the Spurs team mascot, simply known as The Coyote, soon after getting off the plane.
Wembanyama then made the trip to San Antonio where he took part in an event that gave fans the opportunity to see the rookies selected in the draft. As well as Wembanyama, the Spurs also drafted Sidy Cissokho at pick No.44 from G League team, Ignite.
Since the Spurs won the NBA Draft lottery on May 16, the hype around Wembanyama has only intensified. And the player himself revealed in an interview in front of thousands of the team’s fans that he predicted that he would be heading to San Antonio in a video before the lottery, which he says “will come out someday”.
“It wasn't a feeling, it was like a certainty,” Wembanyama said, via a live stream on the San Antonio Spurs Twitter account. “I just knew that the Spurs were going to get the first pick and I was gonna go to that franchise, to that city.”
Wembanyama will now be looking ahead to the NBA Summer League which takes place this July in Las Vegas. The annual event sees rookie stars given the opportunity to showcase their skills for the first time since being drafted by their franchises.
The Spurs are due to face the Hornets in Day One of the Summer League on July 7. It will see the match-up between No.1 pick Wembanyama and No.2 pick Miller for the Hornets.
