Following the results of the NBA draft lottery, André Snellings looks at players who could fit in well with certain teams.
The 2023 NBA Lottery was all about Victor Wembanyama, and which team was going to get the opportunity to draft his generational talent. We now know that Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs won that honor. But, who are some of the other names we will hear called near the top of the draft? What team(s) might these players go to? How would their numbers look as rookies, and how might their presence affect the other players on the team?
Let’s explore with a closer look.
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Victor Wembanyama is universally expected to be the number one overall pick in this season’s draft. Wembanyama is about 7-4 with a 7-9 wingspan, and his lateral movement and coordination are off the charts for a player of that size. As a professional basketball player overseas, Wembanyama has averaged 20 and 10 with more than three blocks per game. After a historical analysis of players that have commonalities with Wembanyama, I conclude that Wembanyama on the Spurs has a solid chance of replicating his European numbers as a rookie.
The Spurs are a young team, and Wembanyama’s presence could eat into the numbers and opportunities for incumbent starting center and power forward Zach Collins and Jeremy Sochan. And, of course, free agency and Draft night trades haven’t occurred, so the Spurs lineup could look entirely different by the time Wembanyama gets his first start in San Antonio.
