NBA draft: ‘Generational talent’ Victor Wembanyama ushers in a new era for the Spurs and the city of San Antonio

Victor Wembanyama’s era has officially begun. Thursday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, he became the first French player to be selected as the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft—and it wasn’t even close.

Even before the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA draft lottery in May for the right to pick first, Wembanyama had been the undisputed top prospect not just for this year’s draft class, but ever since LeBron James was drafted two decades ago. Standing at 7 feet 4 inches with incredible agility and ball-handling skills, Wembanyama has already been dubbed by James to be a “generational talent.” His selection to the Spurs will be transformational for the franchise and for the city of San Antonio. 

It almost seems like fate: The French phenom arrives as the Spurs’ third No. 1 draft pick in history, behind David Robinson and Tim Duncan in 1987 and 1997, respectively. Both Robinson and Duncan were “big men” who changed the direction of the franchise, won the Spurs multiple championships, and even resulted in San Antonio’s AT&T Center being built as a new home base in 2002. For the Spurs, Wembanyama’s arrival seems like a serendipitous yet natural addition to the Hall-of-Famers’ legacies, while flipping the page to a new chapter in the franchise’s history.

Even though the Spurs’ selection was all but certain over a month ago, the atmosphere in Barclays Center was electric. As NBA commissioner Adam Silver stepped up to the podium to make the official announcement, applause and cheering intensified, then fell to a hush. The next sentence—the one confirming that he will wear the Spurs jersey as the first overall pick—made Wembanyama deeply emotional. In live post-draft interviews, he said, “Accomplishing something that I’ve been dreaming of my whole life—hearing that sentence from Adam Silver—I’ve dreamt so much about it that I gotta cry, man.”

“I had all the butterflies in the world in my stomach right before it happened,” he added. 

Despite his meteoric rise to stardom, Wembanyama remains humble and focused. Even at the age of 19, he carries himself with poise in the spotlight and appears to be unshaken by the monumental expectations being placed on him. “Being the best, it’s not only on the court,” Wembanyama said. “It’s all the dimensions in the job of a basketball player, an NBA player. I want to be the best also at the media, the press conference, all this stuff,” he said in a pre-draft news conference.

Spurs fans could not be more ecstatic about Wembanyama’s arrival. Madison, who didn’t give her last name, is a San Antonio native who recently moved to Brooklyn. Speaking with Fast Company in an interview, she exclaimed, “Wembanyama coming to the Spurs is a game changer. We really needed this since we’re in a rebuilding stage, so I’m absolutely thrilled. Go Spurs Go!”

“‘Wemby’ is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to basketball, and the diversity that he carries is coming to San Antonio!” added Melanie Ford, a Spurs season ticket holder. “Plus, the number of people who will want to see Wemby play and sign up for season tickets will be astronomical.”

Indeed, the Spurs sold 2,500 season ticket packages in the first 24 hours after the draft lottery in May.

David, who didn’t provide his last name, is a lifelong Spurs fan who also pointed to the impact that Wembanyama’s arrival will have on the city of San Antonio. “It’s a small-market team, and when you have a guy like Wembanyama who might be the best prospect in the last two decades, it brings a lot of energy and life into the city,” he said. “We’re all excited to see what he does, to see how he changes the franchise—it’s been 26 years since we got a first overall pick who’s been this good at this level!”

So begins the journey of a new star, a generational talent, and a singularly unique prospect on his way to transforming the Spurs franchise and the city of San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama is only getting started.