11 July 2023 , 14:15
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Victor Wembanyama has been told that it was “destiny” for him to be drafted by the San Antonio Spurs.
The 19-year-old is widely regarded as one of the brightest talents in NBA history, after being selected with the No.1 overall pick in June’s draft. The Spurs selected Wembanyama with their pick, and he joins the likes of Tim Duncan and David Robinson to be selected by San Antonio with the No.1 overall selection.
Wembanyama recently got his first taste of the NBA by competing in the Summer League this month. The teenager featured in both of the Spurs’ games against the Charlotte Hornets and the Portland Trail Blazers. The first game against the Hornets saw Wembanyama struggle with just nine points to his name. Things improved greatly against the Blazers, with the centre scoring 27 points with 12 rebounds.
Another former Spurs star, Tony Parker, has a connection with Wembanyama. The 41-year-old, who spent 17 years as a player in San Antonio, is the majority owner of French basketball team ASVEL Basket, where Wembanyama played for a year in 2021/22.
Parker has explained how it was “destiny” for Wembanyama to be drafted by the Spurs. “I’m very happy for him, because I knew that he wanted to come to the Spurs, he wanted to be drafted by the Spurs,” Parker told . "I’ve known him for about four or five years now, and he was under our radar when we were scouting for the team that I own in France (ASVEL). He played for my team and we won a championship together.
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Victor Wembanyama is getting ready for his first season in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)“His big sister went to our academy, his little brother, Oscar, is still in our academy. So I’ve known the family for a long time. When I arrived in San Antonio for the summer, we had lunch at my house the next day. So it was nice to catch up with him and his dad, and his agent that I know very well - because he has half of my team in France, and has all of the player’s in my women’s team, too.
Parker added: “So I’m just happy for him, because he wanted to be here. And it’s funny because when the Spurs got the number one pick, he posted that picture with my jersey growing up. Then when he was playing for my team in ASVEL he never showed me that picture. The first time that I saw it was when he posted it on social media. So it was pretty cool, I guess that it was destiny for him to be drafted by the Spurs.”