There was not the slightest surprise at the top of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night at Barclays Center, as the Spurs added to the NBA’s ever-increasing international flavor by tabbing ultra-hyped French unicorn Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick.
The 7-4 center with guard skills became the 14th international player to be selected at No. 1, and the first who did not play hoops at an American college since Andrea Bargnani of Italy in 2006.
The 19-year-old Wembanyama widely has been tabbed as the best draft prospect since LeBron James and the next generational and global superstar in a league in which the past five MVP winners — Giannis Antetokounmpo (twice), Nikola Jokic (twice) and Joel Embiid (2023) — were born outside the U.S.
That also is true of four of the five members of the All-NBA first team this season — Antetokounmpo (Greece), Embiid (Cameroon), Luca Doncic (Slovenia) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada).
“I’m not surprised by the ultra success of so many international players, just like I’m not surprised by the success of American players. We’re on equal footing globally now,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said earlier this week on a conference call. “I think because basketball truly is a global game, it’s the second most-popular sport in the world behind soccer or football, however you want to call it, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the rest of the world has great prospects.
“The United States still has the most, but the idea that we would have them all is kind of ridiculous. Now, years ago — 30, 40, 50 years ago — the U.S. had way more than anybody else. But basketball has exploded in popularity, especially since the Dream Team in the ’92 Olympics, and I think it’s to be expected that you have great talent coming in internationally.”
According to the NBA, Opening Night rosters in 2022-23 featured 120 international players from 41 countries, including a league-leading number of players from Canada (22), with all 30 teams boasting at least one international player on its roster.
Embiid, Jokic and Antetokounmpo were the three MVP finalists for the second consecutive season.
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“It would be similar to, say, look at Shohei Ohtani,” Bilas said of the Angels’ two-way superstar. “Baseball is an American game. Well, they’re playing basketball around the world, and Japan has been playing baseball for a long time. The idea that we wouldn’t see some of the best players in the world coming from other countries, we felt for a long time like we’ve owned this game, and we don’t. I think we should be used to this by now.”
Wembanyama has played three seasons in France’s highest level of professional basketball, including a loss in the French League finals this year for his club team Metropolitans 92.
The teenager led the league in scoring (21.6 points per game), rebounding (10.4) and blocked shots (3,0) and also won Defensive Player of the Year.
“I think generally international prospects have a little bit more maturity, and again, that’s generally. It’s not true of everyone,” Bilas said. “But they’re playing professionally before they get into the draft process and have been raised more so as pros, and they’re playing against older players. There’s probably more of an opportunity to mature faster once they get to draft age, and for an international prospect, it’s 18 years old.
“I don’t know that you’d want to say it’s easier because international prospects are dealing with coming over to a new country and things like that, but they’ve played high-level basketball, most of them, if not all, for a period of years before they get into the draft. They may have a little bit of a leg up earlier because of that level of competition and the maturity of the players they’re playing against. They’re playing against men at an earlier age.”
And now Wembanyama will begin his NBA journey alongside Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich with the Spurs, whose previous No.1 overall pick, Tim Duncan, led San Antonio to five NBA titles following his selection in 1997.
Those teams also featured international stars Manu Ginobli (Argentina) and Wembanyama’s fellow Frenchman, Tony Parker.
“For me, San Antonio is a city of winning, ” Wembanyama said on Wednesday. “On lottery night, when the Spurs got the No. 1 pick, I was feeling lucky they got the pick as a franchise that has that culture and experience in winning. So I really can’t wait.”
