NBA trade intel - How three West leaders are prepping for the deadline - ESPN

Last week, the NBA descended on Paris for a week of events and a pair of games that were essentially a Victor Wembanyama festival. He'd turned 21 just two weeks before, but the NBA was making this a cornerstone of the regular season, a test for how the European market would react to a major NBA event.

All the league's top executives joined commissioner Adam Silver in Paris as meetings about a new NBA league in Europe accelerated. The league's media arm was there in full force, aiming not just to document the occasion but to amplify the games to a global audience via all its platforms. And the league touted the draw of the game, noting fans from more than 50 countries bought tickets.

But it was all built around Wembanyama. He knew it and delivered, scoring 31 points with 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks in the first game. It was a jackpot performance. There was a reason Wembanyama, feeling the moment, described it as «a top-five game of my life.»

When Silver got home, he had several days of meetings with the league's influential competition committee and general managers. In these sessions, sources said, Silver trumpeted the week's success and the strong response from the fans. It was another powerful reminder that the Age of Victor is rapidly approaching the NBA universe.

Wembanyama earned his first All-Star appearance Thursday night when the Western Conference coaches rightfully selected him as a reserve. Then there was news that Sacramento Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox could be on the move via trade — and that his preference is to become Wembanyama's running mate in San Antonio — this just days after A.J. Dybantsa, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, said he also wanted to join Wembanyama.

So many signs are