The Spurs earned the top selection for the 2023 NBA draft Tuesday after winning the league’s annual draft lottery.
That also means San Antonio is expected to select the consensus top prospect in this year’s draft in French star Victor Wembanyama. The 19-year-old is also the projected top choice on Sports Illustrated’s list of the top 50 prospects in this year’s draft class.
This will be the first time the Spurs will pick first in the draft since 1997, when the franchise selected Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.
Wembanyama, a 7’4” phenom, made a name for himself in the LNB Pro A in France, playing for Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92. Wembanyama averaged 21.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game in 33 league games this season.
“He [Victor Wembanyama] possesses a skill set unlike any we’ve seen before for a player his size, dazzling scouts with his fluidity, shooting mechanics and ball skills despite towering over most defenders thanks to his 7’4” frame,” SI’s Kevin Sweeney writes. “And defensively, his massive wingspan allows him to impact the game in ways very few others can.”
While playing in the qualifying games for France’s international team for the World Cup, Wembanyama registered 20.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Nearly a month ago, he officially declared for this year’s draft on ESPN’s NBA Today.
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Meanwhile, the Pistons, who finished with an NBA-worst 17–65 record this season and had the same 14% odds to land the top pick as the Spurs and Rockets, dropped all the way to the No. 5 selection, the worst-case scenario for Detroit heading into the night.
Other high-profile prospects in this year’s draft class include G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson, Alabama’s Brandon Miller, Houston’s Jarace Walker, Overtime Elite’s Amen and Ausar Thompson and Arkansas’s Anthony Black.
Here are the complete 2023 NBA draft lottery results:
1. Spurs
2. Hornets
3. Trail Blazers
4. Rockets
5. Pistons
6. Magic
7. Pacers
8. Wizards
9. Jazz
10. Mavericks
11. Magic (via Bulls)
12. Thunder
13. Raptors
14. Pelicans
