On Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery. R.C. Buford and Gregg Popovich are now in position to select French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. This might not be the sexiest destination in the world for casual basketball fans, but it’s hard to argue that it isn’t the best fit for him.
Wembanyama is entering the league with some of the highest expectations we’ve ever seen for a prospect. We won’t go into what makes the Frenchman such a tremendous prospect, as we already did that in our scouting report. But we will say that it’s massive that he was able to land in a smaller market. That should significantly decrease the amount of pressure he faces right off the bat.
Wembanyama also happens to be going to a franchise with the most organizational stability in the history of the sport. Popovich might not coach the Spurs forever, but Wembanyama is in good hands as long as he’s there. And San Antonio can be trusted to hand the keys over to another great coach when Popovich decides to retire.
With Popovich as Wembanyama’s head coach, good habits are going to be drilled into the 19-year-old’s head immediately. Popovich can be rather tough on his players, but Wembanyama is rumored to be a very coachable player — and there were actually some reports that San Antonio was his preferred destination. So, he should be able to handle Popovich’s tough love, and it’ll only make him a stronger player down the road.
The on-court fit with the Spurs is also going to be tremendous. Wembanyama should slot in as the team’s starting center, and he’ll be surrounded by young players with upside like Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan. All three of those guys impact the game on both ends of the floor, which is what could make this group special in a hurry. This San Antonio team should be one of the best in the league when it comes to defensive rating, and it’ll be that way for a very long time. The Spurs also happen to have some other talented young guys, with Blake Wesley, Tre Jones and Malaki Branham all being players that have flashed serious potential since entering the league.
With Wembanyama in the mix, San Antonio is now a legitimate point guard away from being a mainstay in the postseason. Having said that, it’s hard not to geek out about the future of this franchise. If Wembanyama lives up to the outrageous hype, this Spurs team just might return to the glory days of winning multiple titles. This kid has all the makings of a future Hall of Famer and the pieces around him should bring out the very best in him.
What happens now that the Charlotte Hornets have the No. 2 pick?
For a while it seemed as though Scoot Henderson was a lock to be the second player selected in this draft. However, the Charlotte Hornets ended up getting the pick, and this is a franchise that has LaMelo Ball at the point guard position. Of course, a team as bad as Charlotte really shouldn’t be thinking much about on-court fit. However, Ball is at his best when he has the ball in his hands and the freedom to make plays for himself and others. And adding Henderson to the mix would make that a lot more difficult on him, while also taking the ball out of the rookie’s hands.
In our scouting report Henderson, we mentioned that this is one of the best point guard prospects we’ve seen in quite some time. So, why exactly would he end up with a team that already has a franchise point guard? I’d guess he doesn’t. With the Hornets in the second spot, I’d assume that Brandon Miller ends up being picked here — unless Charlotte ends up moving back in the draft.
Charlotte hasn’t drafted well in recent years, so taking a player like Miller should be appealing — and you can find out more about the Alabama product in our scouting report. With his combination of size and shooting ability, Miller has a very high floor. At the very least, he should be a good scorer, and he’s one that could thrive playing next to a playmaker like Ball. On top of that, Miller also happens to be a guy with a lot of positional versatility. That makes him a good fit in any lineup, and that’s not something that can be ignored for a blank canvas like the Hornets.
If Charlotte stays put and doesn’t end up drafting Miller, Amen Thompson is another player that makes a lot of sense here. I’m not as high on Thompson as others are — which I broke down in my Amen Thompson scouting report — but he is a player that many believe has the second-highest ceiling in this draft. So, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the Hornets take a swing on his upside — especially considering his high-level defensive ability could help cover for some of Ball’s deficiencies on that end of the floor.