The NBA is forever looking out for its next ‘unicorn’, a term used to describe the latest unique, generational talent.
For the first pick in this year’s NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, a new term has been coined by LeBron James.
“Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien,” said James. “No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor.”
Wembanyama has welcomed the analogy, saying he’s working to be “unique and original”. There has not been such hype about a player in the NBA draft since James’s arrival in the league 20 years ago, and there is genuine excitement that this 19-year-old Frenchman can change the face of the game in much the same way.
He has a freakish number of attributes. He is 7 ft 4 ins tall, with a wingspan of 8ft, but has the agility of much smaller players, remarkable ball handling, not to mention shooting and passing prowess. And in defence, he is a superb shot-blocker.
Wembanyama has basketball and athleticism in his genes. His grandfather played professionally in the Sixties, as did his mother, while his father was an athlete, who focused on high jump and long jump. Even without having set foot on an NBA court, he is, arguably, the most hyped player of next season.
From the moment San Antonio Spurs knew they had the first pick in the draft, there was only ever going to be one selection. After it was announced yesterday, Wembanyama said: “I’ve felt so much love towards me by the Spurs fans. I think there’s already murals of me in the city of San Antonio.
“This is so incredible. I could not ask for a better welcome than this. This is accomplishing something that I have been dreaming of my whole life.”
Financial experts have estimated the arrival of ‘Wemby’, as he is better known, could boost Spurs’s finances by as much as $1billion.
The spotlight on him will be massive when he plays and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will do well to nurture him amid all the fanfare.
As Popovich put it: “He’s obviously a heck of a talent, a very mature young man, but, just like with every draft pick, whether it’s the first or the 27th or the 38th, we have a responsibility to create an environment where they can reach the best success possible for them.”
