Even though the Rockets own the NBA’s worst record (13-45) at the All-Star break, landing the league’s top draft prospect is far from a given. In fact, due to flattened lottery odds established in 2019 to discourage tanking, Houston’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick are only 14%, assuming they finish among the bottom-three teams.
But if the Rockets somehow defy the odds, one thing they won’t have to worry about is whether that top prospect — this year, it’s clearly French big man Victor Wembanyama — is happy to be there.
Per Brian Windhorst of ESPN:
Wembanyama knows the bottom-dwelling teams that are in contention for him without looking. They go through them without comment: San Antonio, Detroit, Charlotte, Houston.
Wembanyama says flatly: “There is no wrong team. I am not worried; there is no bad organization. I never tell myself I don’t like to go there.”
In a reference to Wembanyama and the long odds of landing him, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently declared “pray for Victor” in a televised interview. Winning the draft lottery is the hard part.
However, if it somehow were to happen, it sounds as if the transition process would be fairly smooth from that point.
The 2023 NBA draft lottery takes place on Tuesday, May 16.
When they cycle through San Antonio, Detroit, Charlotte and Houston as teams that could draft him, says Victor Wembanyama: "There is no wrong team. I am not worried; there is no bad organization. I never tell myself I don't like to go there." https://t.co/FY1Ftseq3j
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) February 20, 2023
