There are certain things you can count on. The sun rises in the East. The house always wins. A watched pot never boils.
Add one more to that list: The San Antonio Spurs were always going to tab 19-year-old French talent Victor Wembanyama as the first pick in the 2023 NBA draft. The 7-foot, 5-inch center was heralded as the best prospect since LeBron James, the league’s all-time scorer.
The real intrigue unfolded during the rest of round one at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
With Wembanyama a foregone conclusion, the No. 2 pick by the Charlotte Hornets was the subject of speculation. Trade rumors and talk that the team would take a guard were ended when the team took Alabama’s 6-9 forward Brandon Miller.
That left the Portland Trailblazers on the clock at No. 3. That pick had also been severely scrutinized, with the team’s star guard Damian Lillard the fulcrum of trade rumors. But as expected, the team opted to stay with the chalk, and took guard Scoot Henderson, a flashy guard from the NBA G-league.
