Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe was in attendance to watch Victor Wembanyama play for Metropolitans 92 in their final regular season game against Paris Basketball.
Wembanyama, 19, only officially declared for the 2023 NBA draft last month - but it has long since been a foregone conclusion that the France international will be this year's number one pick. Therefore, the draft lottery, which takes place on Tuesday night in Chicago, will effectively decide where the 7ft 4in player ends up.
Despite being the star attraction, Wembanyama will not be at the lottery due to his continuing club commitments. The LNB Pro A regular season does not end until tomorrow, with the postseason to follow.
Their spot as the second-seed was secured regardless of the result in their final game of the regular season, but Wembanyama's side nonetheless prevailed over their Parisian rivals with Mbappe watching on. Metropolitans won 93-85, with the top draft prospect scoring 22 points while shooting 9-of-16 from the field.
Wembanyama also added nine rebounds and a joint-game-high two blocks in 26 minutes of action. Across the regular season, the forward/center averaged 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, and three-plus blocks per game.
Before the game against tipped off, Mbappe was spotted arriving at Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan to watch Wembanyama playing in the French capital for one of the final times before finally making a much-anticipated arrival in the NBA.
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The French international - who starred at last year's World Cup in Qatar with a hat-trick against Argentina in the final - is a keen basketball fan and has previously attended NBA games. During his team's January winter break, Mbappe was at a Brooklyn Nets game alongside teammate Achraf Hakimi.
Kevin Durant took time out to greet the two players and gifted them jerseys bearing his name. The 2018 World Cup winner has also previously attended NBA Paris Games in his home city over the years.
Mbappe will hope that Wembanyama will have the seemingly inevitable opportunity to return home in a future edition of those overseas games after arriving in the NBA. The Detroit Pistons, who played the Chicago Bulls in the 2023 edition, are one of three franchises with the best odds of having the number one pick.
The Pistons, the Houston Rockets, and the San Antonio Spurs finished the NBA regular season with the three worst records. That means they have a 14% chance of landing the first pick.
Behind them, the Charlotte Hornets (12.5%), the Portland Trail Blazers (10.5%), and the Orlando Magic (9%) all have reasonable chances of jumping up in the order. The Indiana Pacers (6.8%) and the Washington Wizards (6.7%) then have outside chances of soaring ahead of the rest.
Rounding out the lottery are the Utah Jazz (4.5%), the Dallas Mavericks (3%), the Chicago Bulls (1.8%), the Oklahoma City Thunder (1.7%), the Toronto Raptors (1%), and the New Orleans Pelicans (0.5%). The NBA draft lottery takes place early on Wednesday morning BST.
