“San Antonio Spurs win NBA draft lottery, set to pick French prodigy Victor Wembanyama with first overall selection”

San Antonio wins the Lottery. The Spurs will be the first to pick in the Draft on June 22nd. And with call number 1, it is already known that they will call the Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, a prodigy prospectus who was the object of the desires of the 14 franchises, those excluded from the 2023 playoffs, which participated in the Lottery. The black and silver fans rejoice in Texas when, at 2.26 on the Italian night, the most coveted verdict arrives from Chicago. The countdown comes down to pick number 2 and says Charlotte Hornets, leaving San Antonio the position ahead of everyone.

spurs number 1

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They had finished the season with a record of 22 wins and 60 losses, they had a 14% chance of winning the Lottery, the most tied with Houston and Detroit. Fate lent them a hand in their time of need. As he did in two other blessed Drafts in those parts, in 1987 with the first pick they called David Robinson, the Admiral then became extraordinary franchise man, in 1997 they again had the number 1 pick who they knew how to turn into Tim Duncan, one of the best players of all era. The two together then won two titles, in 1999 and 2003, then Timmy was able to win three more with Ginobili and Parker as squires. Wembanyama is considered, rightly or wrongly, an epochal prospect. So, if there’s no two without three…

Wembanyama’s words

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He, connected from Paris, wearing a white T-shirt and a beige sports jacket, is dying of happiness. He is filmed by the cameras while, surrounded by his family, white mother, black father, he applauds, clenches his fists in exultation and even puts his hands on his face almost moved, drunk with joy. In short, it seems, at least at first glance, that the next destination has been extremely pleasing to him. He had put the hourglass on his Twitter profile a few minutes before the order of choice of the Lottery was revealed, he awaited it with trepidation, the next tweet was “Today was a good day”. Here are the words to the microphones of ESPN: “A special moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. I want to win a ring asap.” In short, he doesn’t hide, if anything he raises as if the expectations weren’t already gigantic. 219 centimeters long and 19 years old, currently engaged in the French championship with the Metropolitans 92, it will be clay to be sanded for Coach Popovich, 74, who at this point who knows when he will stop coaching. Certainly not in the foreseeable future, with such talent on the way.

nba, lottery full order

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1) St. Anthony; 2) Charlotte; 3) Portland; 4) Houston; 5) Detroit; 6) Orlando; 7) Indiana; 8) Washington; 9) Utah; 10) Dallas; 11) Orlando (via Bulls); 12) Oklahoma City; 13) Toronto; 14) New Orleans.

jokes of fate

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The Blazers receive an assist from blindfolded goddess: they don’t win the Lottery, but they climb up to third place which could mean a quality reinforcement for Dame Lillard or an important skill to exchange to get a player immediately ready to back up their franchise man. Unless in Oregon they decide to break the toy and swap the number 0… The other significant news is that Detroit, despite having the worst record of the season, ends up choosing only with call number 5. A mockery of fate, a slap to tanking, the habit of systematically losing to rebuild by grabbing the best draft prospects. The lottery reform implemented by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is working. He equated the chances of winning the Lottery for those who finish behind everyone to those of those who finish penultimate and third from last, there are fewer and fewer certainties and the regular season is at least less affected by tanking than in the past. Of course Ben Wallace, the old glory representing the Pistons for the occasion, was hoping for much more help from the basketball gods… Silver, among other things, in Chicago, the venue for the event set up for the Lottery, said: “Morant? A shock what I saw”. The director of the Memphis Grizzlies therefore risks a substantial disqualification for the latest social video in which he holds a weapon. Other verdicts of the Lottery: the Dallas Mavericks keep the choice, the number 10, which was in fact protected top 10 compared to the Knicks who will in any case receive that of the Texans in 2024 or 2025 (position 11-30), it is a cascame of the trade for Porzingis. Instead, the Chicago Bulls lose the pick, their (original) number 11 ends up at the Orlando Magic of Paolo Banchero.

other nba prospectuses

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Wembanyama, sure. Above all. But not only. Brandon Miller, forward from Alabama University, and Scoot Henderson, guard from the G League (Ignite Team), are the other under observations. We’ll see which of the two will be chosen behind the Frenchman. Now the Hornets and Blazers will scrutinize them under a microscope. Still, they’re a nice consolation prize.