San Antonio Spurs have picked Victor Wembanyama as the No.1 overall pick in the NBA draft, on Thursday. It is indeed a dream come true moment for the youngster as he has worked hard for the same in his young career.
At 2.19 meters, the Frenchman has joined the tallest players in NBA history. Because of his talent and size, the 19-year-old youngster has been grabbing all the headlines.
The youngster feels this is the best feeling of his life and he can’t put it into words.
“I can’t really describe it,” the 19-year-old told reporters following the pick. “One of the best feelings of my life. Probably the best night of my life. I’ve been dreaming about this for so long. It’s a dream come true. It’s incredible.”
In fact, the Spurs used all of the five minutes to make their decision official and Victor admitted it was the longest five minutes of his life as he was having butterflies in his stomach.
“This is when I started getting the butterflies, and it’s where I started seeing my family get silent,” Wembanyama said. “Everyone watching their watch. Then I got called, and I went to the back. I was congratulated by a lot of people there. I saw Adam Silver, shook his hand again, gave him a hug.”
The 19-year-old Frenchman revealed he will try to give his absolute best to the fans of San Antonio Spurs in the next season of the NBA.
“I need to see footage of this,” Wembanyama said when asked about the reception he got when his name was announced. “My message to them is I’m going to give 100 percent, make all that’s in my power to make this franchise win, to have impact on the franchise and the fan base and the community.”
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich gave credit to Wembanyama’s parents for guiding him on the right track. Popovich feels the youngster has taken all the attention in a good way and knows how to deal with it, which goes to show his maturity.
“He’s got a great disposition, a good combination of intellectual ability and an emotional intelligence at the same time,” Popovich said. “He understands what hype is. He understands all the attention he’s getting, but he still welcomes it, deals with it. … So, I think he understands that there’s a way to handle that responsibility and still let people feel somewhat close to him. So he doesn’t need a lot of advice in that area.”
Wembanyama will look to deliver the goods for the Spurs and there will be lofty expectations from him.