CLEVELAND, Ohio — The 2023 NBA Draft has a star at the top of the class, unlike any who have never made it into the league. 7-foot-4 Frenchman Victor Wembanyama is considered by many to be the best prospect in the draft.
He is considered by many draft experts and NBA staff to be the best and most publicized player to enter the NBA since LeBron James in 2003. And on Tuesday night, fans will get the chance to see him live when his Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 The Paris squad takes on the G-League Ignite, headlined by another top 2023 Draft prospect at Scoot Henderson in Henderson, Nevada. The game starts at 10 p.m. ET and will be on ESPN2.
They will play a second time Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, also on ESPN2.
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So what makes Wembanyama the runaway favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft?
Consider the fact that he is 7ft 4in tall and has a wingspan of almost 8ft. But not only is he incredibly tall and lanky, he’s also much more mobile and a better ball carrier than players his size probably should be.
Last season, he played 16 games in the Betclic Elite, France’s top basketball league, as a 17-year-old against veteran professionals and averaged 9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 18.4 minutes. He shot 47.3% from the floor and 26% from 3 points.
He also played in 13 EuroLeague games last season, averaging 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 17.5 minutes.
After three games this season, Wembanyama is averaging 17.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks in 27.3 minutes. He’s shooting 44.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3 on an average of four attempts per game.
Henderson, meanwhile, is an elite NBA draft prospect in his own right. The 6-foot-2 guard came to the G-League Ignite last year as a high school junior and averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 11 games. He also appeared in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Cleveland in February and had two points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
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