Victor Wembanyama has officially declared for the 2023 NBA draft.
The top prospect and likely No. 1 pick made the announcement Friday on ESPN’s NBA Today.
“I hope it’s big news,” he said with a smile. “Obviously it’s big news for me, I hope it’s big news for you.”
The 19-year-old forward/centre from Le Chesnay, France, played with Paris-based Metropolitans 92 this season and averaged 21.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
“A position-less player who stands 7-foot-5, taller than anyone in the NBA right now, but with the ball-handling and shooting skills of a guard,” Sportsnet’s Michael Grange says in his Words By Grange essay on Wembanyama. “A defender with intelligence, poise, footspeed and an eight-foot wingspan. A competitor with big goals and a laser-focus.”
The 2023 NBA draft is set to take place June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The draft lottery will take place May 16 with the Detroit Pistons (17-65 record), Houston Rockets (22-60) and San Antonio Spurs (22-60) holding the best odds at 14.0 per cent each to land the first overall pick.