Victor Wembanyama: San Antonio Spurs select French star first pick in NBA Draft

The least surprising part of the 2023 NBA Draft was the first overall selection.

The San Antonio Spurs confirmed the least protected secret in sports when they chose French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the No 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday in New York.

Wembanyama, 19, is considered the most coveted draft prospect since LeBron James in 2003.

"This is accomplishing something that I have been dreaming of my whole life," Wembanyama said on ESPN's broadcast. "Hearing that sentence from [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver, I've dreamed of it so much that I have to cry, man."

Listed at 7-foot-4, Wembanyama is expected to be an immediate difference-maker in the NBA. He has strong floor play, likes to shoot from outside and is effective in the interior.

Wembanyama averaged 20.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.0 blocked shots and 2.5 assists in 44 games this season for the Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 this season.

The Spurs have won five NBA titles under coach Gregg Popovich and have previously hit the No 1 overall draft pick jackpot twice with the selections of future Hall of Famers David Robinson (1987) and Tim Duncan (1997).

Wembanyama wants to join Robinson and Duncan as championship winners.

"It's tough to win in this league," Wembanyama said. "My goal is to try and learn as much as possible because I want to win that ring."

"Someone gave me this...someone knew this was happening somehow."