Carmelo Anthony offers words of advice to NBA newcomer Victor Wembanyama

10 July 2023 , 19:00

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Victor Wembanyama bounced back with a strong performance on Sunday after speaking to Carmelo Anthony (Image: AP)

Carmelo Anthony told Victor Wembanyama to enjoy himself after the NBA prospect struggled in his first outing for the San Antonio Spurs

The first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the French teenager entered the league as one of the most hyped prospects in history - drawing comparisons to LeBron James drafted 20 years previous. The Spurs were the lucky team to win the NBA Draft lottery and went ahead and selected 'Wemby', before he made his unofficial debut just a few weeks later in Las Vegas' Summer League.

It's become somewhat of a tradition for the team's top draft picks to feature in those games, with a number of superstar players in the league attending to see the new talent about to enter the league. And Wemby followed that tradition, suiting up for the Spurs last week in what proved to be a difficult debut with him struggling in the loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Frenchman would have the opportunity to bounce back from that performance just days later, and he spoke to Carmelo Anthony before taking to the court. In a video posted across social media, Anthony told Wembanyama: "Just hoop and enjoy Vegas," with the teenager looking excited to meet the NBA legend. And just an hour or so later, Wembanyama put in an excellent performance, scoring 27 points and 12 rebounds while going 9-of-14 shooting.

Speaking after the game, he said: "I wish we could have won the game. I think I could have done more to help my team win the game. We got to keep learning. We haven't been playing our best for like three quarters. Then in the fourth quarter, we were really dominating. It shows the personality of the team. I think personally, it's normal to get better every game. Two days ago was my first game."

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Victor Wembanyama meeting NBA legend Carmelo Anthony

While Wembanyama certainly took the first part of Anthony's advice, it would have been tough for him to have taken the second after he was embroiled in an incident with Britney Spears. A video had gone viral of the pop superstar Spears being hit in the face by one of Wembanyama's staff when she attempted to approach him after his first game.

Wembanyama was unaware that Spears had been hit, and plans to spend time away after the Summer League with the team. He is now unlikely to return to the team until the pre-season begins in September.

Charlie Wilson