Victor Wembanyama is already delivering big for the NBA, even before stepping foot on the court for the San Antonio Spurs.
Even with the 19-year-old’s selection at No. 1 in the 2023 NBA Draft all but a formality, fans watched the draft coverage from Barclays Center at record numbers on Thursday — particularly to check out the 7-foot-4 phenom.
The first round of the draft on ESPN and ABC averaged a record 4,928,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.
The number spiked in the early portion of the broadcast — which was shown on both networks for the third consecutive year.
From 8-15 p.m., 6,085,000 viewers tuned in to see the French stud drafted by coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs — a franchise that has a storied history with No. 1 picks that includes David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
Wembanyama’s draft broadcast surpassed the viewership for when LeBron James got picked No. 1 by the Cavaliers in 2003 by 33 percent, and that draft class two decades ago was also loaded with the likes of Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony.
Both rounds of the 2023 draft averaged 3,743,000 viewers, which was up 23 percent from 2022.
Wembanyama was greeted with a hero’s welcome by Spurs fans upon his arrival in San Antonio on Friday.
The next time Wembanyama’s drawing power will be tested is the start of NBA Summer League.
The Spurs are scheduled to play the Hornets and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller in Sacramento on July 3 in the opening day of the league.
While the Spurs and Wembanyama have said he will play in the Summer League, it’s unclear how many times he’ll compete and which games he’ll appear in.
But if Thursday’s draft is any indication, the NBA will want Wembanyama on the court as much as possible — especially when he could go head-to-head with Miller.