Victor Wembanyama will soon begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs after the team won the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, and the French phenom says people in his home country are very pleased about that.
Wembanyama watched the Draft Lottery with his family and friends. Everyone seemed thrilled when San Antonio landed the No. 1 pick, and Wembanyama later revealed why. He said there are still a ton of Spurs fans in France from the Tony Parker and Boris Diaw days.
"There's a special relation between France and the Spurs because of Tony [Parker] and Boris [Diaw]. I know half of the country, maybe if not, the whole country wanted the Spurs to have the first pick."
— Victor Wembanyama
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/jzX4O2a9Xk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 17, 2023
“There a special relation between France and the Spurs because of Tony, of course, and also Boris. I know half of the country, if not maybe the whole country, wanted the Spurs to have the first pick,” Wembanyama said. “I was looking (around) and everyone in the room was happy, so I was too.”
Parker helped the Spurs win four NBA titles when he was a star on the team from 2001-2018. He is considered by many to be the best French player to ever play in the NBA. A lot of people in France became Spurs fans during Parker’s time with the franchise, so you can understand why they are excited thet Wembanyama is headed to San Antonio.
Diaw was with the Spurs from 2012-2016 and a part of their 2014 championship team, so that added to the allure for French fans.
The Spurs are excited, too. Team owner Peter Holt went viral for his reaction to winning the Draft Lottery on Tuesday night (video here).
