SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs once again won the first overall selection and a chance to take a generational big man at Tuesday’s NBA Draft lottery, putting French prodigy Victor Wembanyama on course for south Texas.
In a Wednesday edition of the Locked On NBA Big Board podcast live from Chicago at the NBA Draft Combine, host Rafael Barlowe analyzed Wembanyama’s fit with the Spurs and how the lottery affects the rest of the draft.
“In San Antonio, he immediately becomes the face of a franchise that has a track record of churning out Hall of Fame centers,” Barlowe said.
At the same time, two teams in the Rockets and Pistons - who spent the entire season losing to chase down Wembanyama - ended up slipping to picks four and five, respectively.
“You kind of have to feel sorry for those franchises because they enter the day with so much hype about the possibility of landing Victor Wembanyama, who many people are saying is the best prospect since LeBron James, some are saying the best prospect ever,” Barlowe said.
With the Spurs at the top and Houston not picking until fourth, G League Ignite point guard Scoot Henderson, long presumed the No. 2 overall pick, faces uncertainty when it comes to landing on a team in need of a point guard.
“If you’re Scoot Henderson you have to be a little disappointed in the outcome in my opinion, because Charlotte has their point guard in LaMelo Ball, Portland who picks third has Damian Lillard, so you’re not going to an ideal situation where they’re giving you the keys to the franchise to make you their quarterback right away,” Barlowe explained.
The NBA Draft is June 22.