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Who is Victor Wembanyama and which NBA team will draft him in 2023?

Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama is coming to the NBA next year and it will be surprising to see him go anywhere other than number one in the draft.

Born in Le Chesney - a Paris suburb - in 2004, Wembanyama's parents are also athletic and tall.
His father, Felix, was a long jumper who is 6'6", and his mother, Elodie, is a 6'3" ex-basketball player and coach.
The French teenager is currently playing for Metropolitans 92 in his home country and is widely projected to be the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
Wembanyama is only 18 years of age but stands 7'3" tall with an 8-foot wingspan.
He is a freak of nature due to his speed, athleticism and shooting ability.
After starring against NBA G League Ignite on US soil across two games in October, Wembanyama received lots of praise in the media and from NBA players.
He put up 37 points on 7-of-11 shooting from three, alongside four rebounds and five blocks in a 122-115 exhibition loss before scoring 36 and grabbing 11 rebounds in a 112-106 win.
However, Wembanyama first gained stardom from a viral video of him playing against three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and compatriot Rudy Gobert.
The video shows the then-16-year-old more than hold his own.
While the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo is referred to as the 'Greek freak' and Kristaps Porzingis was labelled a 'unicorn' in his early days in the NBA, LeBron James recently called Wembanyama an "alien".
The four-time NBA champion said: "Everybody's been a unicorn over the last few years, well he's more like an alien.
"I've never seen, no one's ever seen anyone as tall as he is, but it's fluid and as graceful as on the floor."
And reliable NBA sportswriter Adrian Wojnarowski described Wembanyama as "the singular greatest prospect in NBA history".
His ball-handling, shooting and defensive capabilities will make whoever drafts Wembanyama a very, very lucky franchise.
Despite all of his positive attributes, there are still some flaws in the teenager's game.
He is skinny with a similar build to that of Chet Holmgren who was selected No. 2 by the Oklahoma City Thunder this year.
"He's still extremely skinny," Jason Filippi, a Europe-based scout who has worked for several NBA teams said.
"That limits his game. Once he starts to grow into his own body, that's when we're going to see the real Wembanyama. He hasn't even scratched the surface."
We will not know who will be signing the 18-year-old until the draft lottery on June 22, 2023.
Whoever is given that No. 1 pick will surely select the Frenchman, but you never know, stranger things have happened in the NBA. I think...
The team with the worst record at the end of the season will have the best odds of getting the top pick in the draft, but it doesn't always work out that way.
The Eastern Conference is very competitive this season and the current bottom three - the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons - will be in the mix, while the Hornets are underperforming so probably won't be No. 1 in the 2023 draft.
Out of the bottom four in the west, you can rule out the Los Angeles Lakers, whose first-round pick next year can be swapped by the New Orleans Pelicans.
I also fancy the Lakers to finish outside the lottery pick spots and could be in the playoffs if LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain healthy.
However, OKC will be scary if they draft Wembanyama, who would join up with their great young core.
The Thunder have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Holmgren, among others.
The other ball clubs in the bottom four of the west are the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
The Spurs are a solid franchise who have gradually been getting weaker and weaker. This is the worst they have been for decades, but they could become contenders again soon if they get Wembanyama.
Houston are another franchise in transition and have several promising young players such as Kevin Porter Jr, Jabari Smith Jr, and Jalen Green.
Like I have said, whoever gets Wembanyama are absolutely sorted. He is an incredible young talent with a superb NBA career ahead of him.
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