It’s done, Victor Wembanyama is the first French player in history to be drafted in first position in the NBA.
This night of June 22 is historic! Victor Wembanyama was drafted, as expected, in the first position in the NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs. At the microphone of ESPN a few minutes after the announcement of Adam Silver, the French player was very moved. “A lot of emotion to fulfill my dream. It’s hard to win in the NBA. Teams have tried for years but failed. I want to learn. I’m a real Spurs now!”
At the microphone of beIN Sports, the Frenchman explained that he wanted to wear the colors of France very high and received many tributes from Emmanuel Macron or Kylian Mbappé. “It’s indescribable. I exploded with emotion, I had a lump in my stomach the 5-10 minutes before they called me. This is the biggest accomplishment of my life. My tears? is natural. I still don’t fully realize that I’m an NBA player. San Antonio? I’m so happy to fall into this franchise. The pride of being the first French draft No. 1 is incredible. That’s also why that I do. I will continue to fly the colors of France. This is only the beginning.”
Emmanuel Macron, Kylian Mbappé and French basketball stars like Rudy Gobert and Nicolas Batum congratulated Frenchman Victor Wembanyama for his first place in the draft. “Victor Wembanyama, the first Frenchman to be the first choice of the draft. You already make us dream. No doubt, you will change the game!” launched the president at 4:29 a.m. with a photo of the new Spurs player at the Elysée Palace (he received very discreetly a few days ago, Ed).
The French also received a very important call a few minutes after the draft, that of Greg Popovich, the emblematic coach of the Spurs who congratulated the French. But “Wemby” immediately showed his desire to learn, as the video shared by the franchise shows.
The emblematic Spurs coach spoke to the press on Thursday June 22 to talk about his new player. First information, we still do not know if Victor Wembanyama will participate or not in the World Cup. On the other hand, the coach has confirmed that “Wemby” will play the Summer League, it remains to be seen in what proportion. Asked about his “talent”, Greg Popovich is aware of it and also knows the expectation that will be around him. “We are delighted to welcome Victor, who is obviously a great talent and a very mature young man. But as with all draft picks, the first, the twenty-seventh or the thirty-eighth, our responsibility is to create an environment where players can thrive and achieve maximum success. I don’t know what I’m going to say to him yet. We’ll have to wait until we get to know him a little better. We don’t have a personal relationship yet . But from what I’ve seen, I don’t think he’s going to need me much to handle the pressure. His parents have done a great job already.”
Short biography. Élodie de Fautereau gave birth to Victor Wembanyama on January 4, 2004 at Le Chesnay in the Yvelines. Growing up, the young man followed in the footsteps of his family, who were very invested in sport. His mother is a former basketball player who played in the 3rd division while his father is a triple jumper. His big sister Eve plays in the women’s Ligue 2 in Monaco. Cadet Oscar would be between two sports, basketball and handball.
Between 2011 and 2014, Victor Wembanyama wore the Chesnay Versailles 78 Entente jersey before joining the Nanterre 92 club at the age of 10. He remained there until 2020. In 2021 when he signed with the ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, he is designated as the best hope of the French Championship. A reward he received again in 2022 before joining the Metropolitans 92. In 2022, the new French darling left for friendly matches in the United States during which he received a host of praise from players confirmed Americans such as LeBron James.
With 2m21, Victor Wembanyama can look down on many people. Its large size allows it quite easily to reach the basket located at 3m05 from the ground (even with its 105 kilos). He is not the greatest basketball player in France since Vincent Pourchot exceeds him by one cm.
Standing with his arms outstretched, Victor Wembanyama has a wingspan of 2.43m, more than any other player in the NBA right now. Rudy Gobert, for example, has an estimated wingspan of 2m35 and Giannis Antetokounmpo 2.21m. If it seems disproportionate, Manute Bol, a Sudanese former player of the NBA had at the time a wingspan of 2m59.
Victor Wembanyama’s father is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The basketball player therefore has Franco-Congolese origins.
Except surprise, Victor Wembanyama will be the first choice of the Draft in 2023. His talent has so dazzled the whole world that the NBA, for example, decided at the beginning of the year to broadcast all the matches of Metropolitans 92. And his margin of progress is still enormous. According to Forbes, Levallois-Perret’s prospect has a 14% chance of joining the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs or Detroit Pistons.
The Frenchman wears size 55 shoes on his feet. The average is 42 for a Frenchman. In the NBA, the most impressive shoe size was that of Shaquille O’Neal. The former glory of the Lakers was doing 63!
Victor Wembanyama’s multiple more than convincing performances earned him his first selection for the France team on September 3, 2022. Before being with the A’s, “Wemby” won the silver medal at the Euro in 2019 in U16. He also inherited second place with his teammates during the Under-19 World Cup, at the expense of the United States.
The destiny of Victor Wembanyama is promised to the NBA where he will undoubtedly hit the jackpot. While waiting to receive millions, Wemby would receive, according to the Parisian, between 15,000 and 20,000 euros monthly.
