Projected No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama has entered the 2023 NBA Draft, he announced Friday during an appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Today” (link via ESPN’s Jonathan Givony).
“Declaring for the draft … it’s something crazy I’m not realizing yet,” Wembanyama told ESPN. “I realized pretty young I wanted to play in the NBA but it becomes a reality more every day. I’m so lucky to have this dream within the reach of my hand.”
The announcement is a formality, since Wembanyama has long been considered the top prospect in the 2023 draft class. In fact, the 7-foot-5 French phenom has widely been viewed as the NBA’s best prospect since LeBron James entered the league 20 years ago.
Playing this season for the Metropolitans 92 in France as a 19-year-old, Wembanyama has averaged 21.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 2.3 assists in 32.2 minutes per game across 29 LNB Pro A appearances. He has led the club to a 19-10 record, good for second place in France’s top basketball league, and is the favorite to earn MVP honors.
Wembanyama’s combination of size and length, as well as his shooting and rim-protecting ability, makes him a unique prospect whom every lottery team would love to build around.
The draft lottery, which will be known this year as the Wembanyama sweepstakes, will take place on May 16.
