Victor Wembanyama will have a packed house for his NBA Summer League debut with the San Antonio Spurs.
The San Antonio Spurs lucked into the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, landing them French superstar Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman is expected to anchor the next decade of Spurs basketball, following in the hallowed footsteps of Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the the San Antonio frontcourt.
The burden of expectation has derailed many promising careers, but Wembanyama is uniquely prepared — mentally and physically — for what comes next. It's hard to predict anything other than absolute stardom for the 19-year-old.
It would appear the general NBA fandom agrees. In advance of Wembanyama's Summer League debut in Las Vegas on Friday, tickets are getting hard to come by.
NBA Summer League tickets sold out for Victor Wembanyama's Friday debut
Victor Wembanyama will make his Spurs Summer League debut Friday night at 9 PM E.T. when San Antonio faces No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets. Wembanyama will presumably have his minutes monitored after playing a full season in France, but he should receive ample opportunity to showcase his diverse skill set.
The building will the jam-packed. With 17,500 tickets gone, the first day of Vegas Summer League is already sold out.
That's right — it's Wembymania. There hasn't been a No. 1 pick with this level of hype since LeBron James. The NBA may have achieved a pale imitation of it with Zion Williamson or Ben Simmons, but never have we seen a player so clearly suited to immediate NBA stardom.
Wembanyama can already score efficiently at all three levels. He's 7-foot-4 uncorking step-backs and runners. He's 7-foot-4 handling the ball in transition and euro-stepping his way to the rim. He's 7-foot-4 with an 8-foot wingspan, absolutely erasing shots from those brave (or foolish) enough to challenge him at the rim.
He isn't completely flawless, but Wembanyama is the rare international prospect who has dominated pro-level competition as a teenager. He led Metropolitans 92 to the French league championship series and he won LNB Pro A MVP, averaging 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks in the regular season.
The Spurs don't occupy the biggest market, but fans are accustomed to San Antonio being a force in the West. Gregg Popovich is the winningest coach of all time. Duncan, Robinson, and Manu Ginobili are already dishing out advice to the new rookie. The Spurs are going to pour every ounce of their player development power into maximizing Wembanyama. He's a rare gift for any franchise, but no franchise is better prepared to act on that gift than the Spurs.
This is only the beginning of what promises to be a very exciting career. Wembanyama is must-watch television. That is, unless you're able to snag tickets to watch him in-person, which won't get any easier in the years to come.